Chile 2024 to 2026 Water investment

Chile Drinking Water Infrastructure Getting Updates

The water companies in Chile are planning to invest over USD $400 million in 2024, of which 60 percent will be used to build infrastructure related to deliver drinking water to the population.

Between 2010 and 2020 Chilean water companies invested more than USD$1,680 million in measures to combat climate change, searching for new alternatives, in years where droughts have almost eliminated all water reservoirs.  

One proposed method for drinking water has been desalinization plants with plants considered for Antofagasta, Tocopilla and Copiapó. However, according to the Superintendencia de Servicios Sanitarios (Superintendent of Sanitation Services or SISS) this alternative may cause water rates for consumers to double.

During this time increased investment has been made to avoid water leakage in the pipelines, and an informative campaign was introduced to the public to reduce the wasting of water and increase public awareness of this issue.

The National Association of Sanitary Services (Andess) notes that it has been working over the last several years to avoid problems with drinking water or grey water treatment. Public-private partnerships have been a key aspect to achieving this goal.

With this in mind there are new concessions to combat drinking water problems: for the year 2025 the Ministerio de Obras Publicas (MOP) is considering a desalinization plant for the Coquimbo region and for the year 2026 another one is considered for Rancagua.

For more information contact the U.S. Commercial Service Chile at: office.santiago@trade.gov.