China Railway Group Wins $72.8M Chilean Railway Contract, Expanding Latin America Presence
Photo: Wikimedia Commons.
China Railway Group, one of the world’s largest state-owned construction companies, has been awarded a contract worth approximately $72.8 million to build a new railway project in Chile, with works expected to start in August this year, according to Construction Briefing. The project marks another milestone in China’s growing involvement in Latin American infrastructure, particularly in the rail sector.
While specific details on the scope and exact location of the new railway have yet to be disclosed, the award is part of a broader pattern of collaboration between Chile and Chinese companies in strategic transport projects. In recent years, China has evolved from being merely a financier to playing a direct role as a contractor in large-scale infrastructure developments across the region.
A recent example is the Santiago-Batuco Train, a passenger rail project awarded in April 2025 to a Chinese consortium for $470 million. This project, part of the government’s Trenes para Chile plan, aims to expand metropolitan passenger services, ease road congestion, and improve urban mobility in the Santiago Metropolitan Region.
Chile’s renewed railway agenda dates back to 2019 with the “Chile sobre Rieles” program, which laid the groundwork for modernizing both passenger and freight rail networks. This strategy has since continued under Trenes para Chile, attracting international partners, including Chinese firms, for their competitive financing, advanced technology, and proven expertise in large-scale railway construction.
China Railway Group’s growing presence in Latin America reflects Beijing’s broader strategy to deepen trade and industrial links with the region, targeting sectors such as transport, energy, and infrastructure. For Latin American governments, Chinese partnerships present an opportunity to address pressing connectivity needs and enhance competitiveness in global trade.
Although the newly awarded Chilean project is smaller in scale compared to flagship initiatives like Santiago-Batuco, it underscores China’s steady consolidation in the country’s rail infrastructure sector. It paves the way for future cooperation in technology transfer and economic development.
* Original text in Spanish. Translated by Large Language Model (LLM) technology.
Main Source:
China Railway Group se adjudica proyecto ferroviario chileno – Construction Briefing
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