Chile picked as preferred bidder the equal team of Spain’s Sacyr and OHL to build the US$1.06-billion, 9.3-km Americo Vespucio Oriente (AVO) tunnel, the first phase of a 13-km missing link in the 64.8-km beltway around Santiago.

Chile’s outgoing government split the project design and bidding into two parts given its complexity. Chile plans to bid the final segment separately. The AVO tunnel will handle 8,000 vehicles per hour, up from the current 3,000 vehicles that congested street traffic now allows.