Following the statements of a diplomatic official and the growing number of projects miners in the region, the debate was resumed about the possibility of carrying out the tunnel from «Black Water».
It is a gigantic work that would cross the Andes mountain range and would facilitate circulation, both people and products, among Saint John and the Chilean region of Coquimbo.
He plan It originated many years ago, but its realization has been postponed.
The details of the gigantic work
After Mario Schiavone, the Chilean consul in San Juan, declared that «It is an aspiration that will never be lost.«, the discussion began again regarding the progress of the tunnel project Black Water.
This foresees the construction of a closed route to replace the Agua Negra International Pass, which crosses the Andes mountain range and connects the Argentine province of San Juan with the Chilean region of Coquimbo, but it can only be used during the summer, due to the accumulation of snow and the extreme conditions of the high mountains.
To overcome this difficulty and achieve a connection throughout the year, a work was designed that projects the creation of two parallel tunnels, both 14 kilometers longone for each direction of circulation: descending from Argentina to Chile and ascending from Chile to Argentina.
The Argentine mouth would be at an altitude of 4,085 above sea level, while the Chilean mouth would be at 3,620. In addition, the project includes pedestrian galleries connecting tunnels, for emergencies, along the entire route, and different road access roads.
Origin and route of the «Agua Negra» tunnel
The tunnel project is the result of an initiative several years ago. The idea was promoted by the Governments of Chile and Argentina, and by those of the Province of San Juan and the region of Coquimbo.
A first outline was formally proposed in 1998on the occasion of the improvement and paving project of National Route No. 150 up to the international limit.
When that design took shape, it was decided to hire a technical pre-feasibility study to define which works should be most convenient for crossing the border.
More than a dozen possibilities were evaluated, containing tunnels of variable lengths from 4.5 to 24 kilometers, in a wide geographic area that covered most of the Agua Negra and San Lorenzo streams in Argentina, and the Colorado River Valley in Chile.
On that occasion, an alternative was selected as most convenient, which is the current one, which included a tunnel of approximately 14 kilometers, with entrance portals at the mouth of the Quebrada de San Lorenzo in Argentina and in the Llano de las Liebres in Chile.
Between 2009 and 2011, the Government of Argentina was first in charge of the conceptual study and design and, later, of the basic engineering and environmental impact design.
This led, among other factors, to the signing of a Complementary Protocol to the Treaty of Maipú on October 30, 2009, which gave rise to the Binational Entity for the Low Height Tunnel Project (EBITAN)in charge of conducting and analyzing the studies and directing the other stages related to eventual construction.
Shortly thereafter, one of the most positive news for the plan arrived: the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) offered to finance it in its entirety, with the commitment to make available around 1500 million dollars.
In December 2014, the governments of both countries approved the II Complementary Protocol to the Treaty of Maipú, through which it was decided to carry out the work of the Agua Negra Tunnel and the regulatory framework applicable to the project was defined, assigning EBITAN international legal personality to fulfill its objectives.
In April 2016, in Washington, the Finance Ministers of Argentina and Chile and the President of the IDB agreed on the first disbursement of the project’s financing, for an amount of 40,000,000 dollars, destined for the entire stage prior to the start of work.
Despite everything, in recent years, progress stoppedbecause Chile stopped giving political impetus in Chile, renounced the associated IDB credit and raised questions about the profitability of the project and some technical aspects of the work. As a consequence, the international tender never came to fruition and construction did not begin.
However, the illusion reappeared recently, after Mario Schiavone, the Chilean consul in San Juan, maintained that it is a «aspiration that will never be lost». «We will be patient, we will wait and one day it will happen,» he said convinced before the local media. Huarpe TV.
In addition, companies that carry out mining projects in San Juan, such as Vicuña, hope that the work will be completed to be able to connect more easily with the neighboring country.
