MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Chile invests in ports facilities for new cruise season

Valparaiso Port

The cruise ship business this coming 2008/2009 season is expected to contribute roughly 45 million US dollars to Chile's economy, according to the Southern Cone Ports Corporation.

Cruise ships visiting Chile normally stop at eight ports: Valparaíso (the principal port for either beginning or ending the tour), Puerto Montt, Punta Arenas, Arica, Iquique, Antofagasta, Coquimbo and Chacabuco. Valparaíso, one of Chile's most established ports, is a terminal for cruise ships headed to Patagonia and can receive as many as three to four cruise ships a day. Valparaíso plans to invest 5 million USD in a new 328,000-square-foot terminal to accommodate tourists arriving at the busy port. "Cruise lines often don't post their arrival dates in time, and that can lead to port congestion," said Teodoro Wigoski, president of the Ports Corporation. Punta Arenas and Coquimbo are also making upgrades. They will construct "dolphins," or pillars that are fixed into the ocean floor to serve as docks to secure cruise ships in the bay. New and emerging docks for cruise ships include Puerto Chacabuco in Aisén, where USD 300,000 has been invested to repair cruise ship docks; and Talcahuano, which just opened its port in the 2006/2007 cruise ship season with 1,600 tourists. This past 2007/2008 season, Talcahuano received 4,300 tourists. Cruise ship visitors to Chile in 2007/2008 increased to 140,000 persons, a 22% increase over the previous season, reported Chilean port authorities this week. This is nearly twice the numbers from 2003/2004, the season when Chile's cruiser business began in earnest. The Santiago Times