MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Regional News.

Headlines:
New airstrip in Santiago; Abattoir tender goes ahead; Unique air/sea Antarctic cruise; Chile targets dairy export market.

New airstrip in Santiago

Santiago de Chile airport will have an additional main airstrip parallel to the current track. The operation involves 70 million US dollars and work will begin towards the end of the year. The investment includes two access runs to the future two main airstrips plus a shorter access to the maintenance work-shops and hangars for the Chilean domestic fleet. Lan Chile is also making improvements to its VIP facilities in Arturo Benitez Merino airport. Passengers in transit arriving in Santiago and connecting other international flights of the company will be entitled to showers and garments pressing while waiting at the Neruda VIP lounges. The lounge already is furnished with essential equipment for businessmen: twelve computers connected to Internet, fax, photocopies and printers.

Abattoir tender goes ahead

Seventeen interested parties acquired the tender conditions for the sale of the Sacor abattoir in Chilean Tierra del Fuego, managed by the Production Promotion Corporation of Chile, but which local farmers are rejecting. The tender has been organized by the Government Companies System (SEP), responsible for most privatizations in Chile. In a release SEP said that the next round is the presentation and assessment of the interested parties "who will be listed in an open registrar by next September 15". During October bids will be received and assessed, and in November the Sacor abattoir will be awarded to the winning party. SEP gave no indication of the interested parties but these will become available during September when the Registrar is made public. However farmers have repeatedly criticized the tender process demanding "greater openness" and more consideration for "farmers' interests". Pablo Sapunar president of the Farmers Association of Magallanes, Aosgama, warned that the organization had appealed to the Anti Monopolies Resolution Committee in Santiago that meets every Wednesday and said the Sacor case will be considered next week. "We believe it would be more appropriate for the tender to be postponed until an in depth analysis of the conditions can be made and further information gathered", stressed Mr. Sapunar. But if the tender still goes ahead "we will present our case in the Santiago Appeals Court and if necessary before the Supreme Court since we believe the whole process has been too precipitated and insufficiently transparent". Asogama fears that with Sacor in the private sector, --instead of the government? sheep farmers will be exposed to a quasi monopoly situation since there are only two major abattoirs in Magallanes licenced to sell overseas.

Unique air/sea Antarctic cruise

A unique and ambitious air-maritime Antarctic cruise will be inaugurated beginning next December and operating from Punta Arenas. The seven days cruise that targets the 15,000 high income tourists that every year travel to Antarctica will begin by having visitors tour Punta Arenas and then flying them to the Chilean resort, Las Estrellas in King George Island. "Chile is rapidly loosing the Antarctic trade and we believe this is a viable, interesting and profitable option that should help Punta Arenas and local entrepreneurs", said Jaime Vázquez, the brains behind the operation. Air transport will be the responsibility of DAP Airlines that will be incorporating a Dash 7 with 50 passengers capacity by next season. Once in the Chilean base of Teniente Marsh and having visited neighbouring bases visitors will be transferred by Zodiac to a former Russian scientific vessel operated by the Dutch company Ocean Wide Expeditions and with comfortable cabins for 46 people. The Antarctic waters cruise begins and on the seventh day the group will be flown back to Punta Arenas. Prices range between 5,900 and 7,000 US dollars per head and this season there will be an only pilot regular cruise. Charter cruises can be organized depending on the number of interested people. For the following season 04/05, three cruises have been programmed. The name of the company is Turismo Antartica XXI S.A. and the internet address: www.antarcti-caxxi.com.

Chile targets dairy export market

The first ever Chilean Dairy Exporters Association was created this week in Santiago with the purpose of promoting the industry's sales overseas. The private organization was formed following a tentative operational program started in 2002 and sponsored by the Chilean Ministry of Agriculture to bring together all those companies and farmers linked to the dairy industry. Deputy Agriculture Minister Arturo Barrera said the newly formed organization "will become a strong tool to promote dairy exports uniting independent efforts particularly since Chile has signed several free trade agreements". Fernando Barañao the first elected president of the organization thanked the Chilean Ministry of Agriculture for the support and underlined "this is one of the most significant benchmarks fro Chilean agriculture and agro-business". The purpose of the organization is to ensure Chile becomes self sufficient in dairy production and a net exporter at regional level. Mr. Barñao said that the overseas sales goal for 2005 was 100 million US dollars.