Américo Vespucio Oriente Highway

Américo Vespucio Oriente Highway

Chile is a South American country trying to escape from its poor economic conditions. For any country to do that, it needs to have stable economic infrastructure. The construction of the Américo Vespucio east highway is a step towards that.

“The Américo Vespucio Oriente Highway in Chile is a 13 kilometer underground tolled motorway procured through a PPP. The project has been in development for nearly 10 years and is designed to address traffic congestion problems in the capital city of Santiago – reducing journey times between El Salto and Avenida Francisco Bilbao from 60 minutes to eight. If it succeeds, the judges said this would be a remarkable improvement to urban mobility. A consortium formed by OHL Concesiones and Sacyr Concesiones Chile was named preferred bidder in January 2014. Part of the tunnel will be bored and part will be cut-and-cover” (KPMG).

At present, construction has been delayed multiple times. The first phase would not be ready until 2021. Hopefully, when the highway is functional it brings some respite to Chile.

Focus on Infrastructure in Trump’s Plan 2018

Focus on Infrastructure in Trump’s Plan 2018

In his speech, US President said "We will build gleaming new roads, bridges, highways, railways, and waterways all across our land. And we will do it with American heart, and American hands, and American grit (Whitehousegov).” By the looks of it the American government plans to have a large scale push in the infrastructure sector, which has seen policy paralysis.

Infrastructure is one of the main challenges faced by the US government at present. Trump plans to alleviate this by making new investments in rural America, returning decision making authority to State and local governments as well as removing much of legal framework and regulatory permission periods. "Of the $200 billion, $100 billion will create an Incentives Program to spur additional dedicated funds from States, localities, and the private sector”.

Many experts have already derided the plan. In fact, a recent UPenn study forecasted that the plan would have minimal impact on the economy and in fact Trump’s estimates are about 75% off. “The administration disagrees and says that the $200 billion in federal spending, combined with quicker permitting that allow projects to get started fast, will incentivize a wave of projects” (NYTimes). It remains to be seen what happens next.