MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Brazil to construct Chile's largest coal fueled complex

Brazil's giant EBX recently announced plans to build the largest coal-fired energy-producing complex in Chile, to be named Castilla, which will be located near the Region III city of Copiapó. Market sources indicate that the investment associated with this type of power plant would exceed 2 billion US dollars.

The plant ? which will produce an estimated 1,400 megawatts of energy ? will be the first Brazilian electric company in Chile, as well as the first project developed abroad by EBX. In Brazil EBX has mining, energy, transportation and entertainment holdings and with a next stock market worth of 6.8 billion. EBX has seven power plants currently operating in Brazil, including natural gas, coal, hydroelectric and diesel plants. EBX, controlled by businessman Eike Batista, has recruited Luis Hormázabal, former investment manager at Electroandina, to lead the development of the project. EBX has also opened a commercial office in one of Santiago's Marriot Hotel's towers. The project would be nearly twice the size of AES Gener's recently announced coal-fired project which will produce 750 megawatts and require an investment of 1.3 billion US dollars. In addition to Castilla, Batista also plans to develop a city on 240.000 hectares of land between Caldera and Huasco in Region III. The city would include housing, schools, a commercial centre, cemeteries and jails. Coinciding with the city is a planned mega-port for the area, requiring an investment of 500 million US dollars, which would accommodate the large ships used to remove materials from mines such as Candelaria, Pascua Lama and Cerro Casale. The Santiago Times