The Bi-Oceanic Corridor as a driver of development?

Challenges faced by providers of transport services in Antofagasta, Chile

Abstract

Development corridors aim to connect peripheral regions to the global economy. They are diverse in terms of their complexity but always based on the improvement of transport infrastructure. The article analyses the perspectives of providers of transport service in Antofagasta, Chile, to internationalise their business activities along the Bi-Oceanic Corridor, which runs from north Chile to the provinces of Jujuy and Salta in Argentina to Paraguay’s Chaco region to Mato Grosso do Sul in Brazil. Against the backdrop of information from secondary sources and 17 semi-structured interviews, the challenges faced by freight forwarders from Antofagasta are identified. Many small and very small companies do not meet the requirements for internationalisation. Especially the bilateral cargo permit poses a considerable barrier. Moreover, it makes sense for freight forwarders to focus on the provision of services to the regional mining industry. If they decide to expand into the near abroad, they have to deal with their low visibility for non-local clients, Argentinean competitors, which have access to subsidised fuel, and the centralism that marks the Chilean economy. The article concludes that the inclusion of local companies, probably also in other sectors, is a great weakness of the Bi-Oceanic Corridor.