MOP tenders the preliminary project for the Valparaíso cable car for $1.341 billion

The Ministry of Public Works, through the General Directorate of Public Works Concessions, has opened the digital public tender for the “Valparaíso Cable Car Preliminary Project Study,” with a maximum official budget of $1,341,000,000. The notice is published in the Official Gazette of the Republic of Chile No. 44,566, dated Monday, October 5, 2026, in Section IV of tenders, competitions, summons, and loss of documents, under the official reference CVE 2881138.

The call for bids is channeled through the platform www.mercadopublico.cl and carries Code SAFI 438250 and Public Market ID 2216-28-O126. Funding comes from Sectoral Funds, and the contract will combine Lump Sum and Unit Price Series modalities, with readjustment.

A Concessioned Cable Car Between the Hills and the Flatlands

According to the terms, the “Valparaíso Cable Car Project” contemplates a high-standard and high-service level concessioned cable car system connecting the hills with the flatlands (el plan) of Valparaíso. The consultancy must define a route and determine the technical, economic, and financial conditions that make its materialization feasible.

The stated objective is to specify the conditions under which the project will be tendered, so that the study provides the necessary background to subsequently call for the concession.

Eight Base Studies and Citizen Participation

The work is structured into a series of base studies that must interact with one another to achieve a comprehensive vision of the project:

• Engineering.
• Demand and Social Evaluation.
• Expropriations.
• Urban-Territorial with Citizen Participation.
• Indigenous Affairs.
• Environmental.
• Business Model.
• Legal.

The development of these studies will indicate the improvements, complements, and new works required to materialize the cable car. The terms require the creation of spaces for citizen involvement and influence in accordance with the regulations on citizen participation in public management (Law No. 20,500) and current presidential and ministerial instructions, also incorporating regional and local institutions.

Requirements, Deadlines, and Tender Calendar

Only natural or legal persons, national or foreign, registered in the MOP Consultants Registry in the required area and specialty may participate:

• Area 1: Planning and Feasibility.
• Specialty 1.3: Transport Systems.
• Category: First or First Superior.

Consortia are permitted, provided that each member is registered in the registry and that together they meet the area, specialty, and category requirements. Registrations must be valid as of the date of the opening of the technical bids, and those who are part of a consortium may not apply individually or as part of another consortium.

The execution period is 305 calendar days starting from the date the Award Resolution is fully processed, with suspensions during the report review and correction periods. The official schedule establishes:

• Inquiries regarding the terms: from 10-05-2026 at 23:59 until 11-09-2026 at 23:59.
• Responses: until 12-02-2026 at 19:00.
• Closing for receipt of technical and economic bids: 12-21-2026 at 15:00.
• Opening of technical bids: 12-21-2026 at 16:00.
• Opening of economic bids: 02-18-2027 at 12:00.

The bidding terms are available for download at www.mercadopublico.cl from the date of the notice publication.

The tender marks the first formal step to determine if the cable car is viable and under what conditions it will be conceded, a project with a direct impact on the mobility of the hill residents and on consulting and engineering firms in the transport sector. The schedule extends until February 2027, when the economic bids will be known.

Source: Official Gazette of the Republic of Chile, No. 44,566, Monday, October 5, 2026, Section IV (Tenders, competitions, summons, and loss of documents), pp. 1-2 (official reference: CVE 2881138).