President José Antonio Kast announced on Monday night a reduction of up to 25% in TAG toll rates on Autopista Central. Franco Parisi, secretary-general of the People's Party (PDG), and three Socialist Party (PS) deputies questioned the agreement because, they say, it favors the concession operator.
According to BioBioChile, Kast made the announcement alongside the minister of Public Works and Transport, Louis de Grange, at the highway's facilities in San Bernardo.
The measure provides for a 10% reduction in regular rates and a 25% reduction during peak and congested periods. It will not be immediate: the discount would apply from January 1, 2027, once the administrative review of the agreement is complete.
The government estimates that the reduction would reach around 1.7 million users per month. There is a condition, however: to qualify for the discount, you will have to pay your bills within the first 60 days.
The focus of the criticism is what is being offered in return. The concession contract will be extended by 20 months, allowing the company to operate the highway until April 2036, instead of August 2034.
Put simply, it is like paying smaller monthly installments in exchange for paying over more months. The bill is spread over time, but does not necessarily get smaller.
"A very bad deal for Chile, but a very good deal for the concession operators. President Kast is making a mistake again. You have to do the homework and run the numbers," Parisi said.
The economist suggested that the government could use Article 19 of the Concessions Law to modify the charges instead of extending the contract. "The right thing to do is negotiate both a floor and a ceiling for the concession operators' profits," he added. Without those limits, he warned, "the middle class and the emerging middle class will always be paying."
From the Socialist parliamentary caucus, according to G5 Noticias, Deputy Nelson Venegas, a member of the investigative committee on highway concessions and toll and TAG rates, argued that "the concession operators do not lose; all it does is extend their contract."
Venegas also complained that the measure covers only one highway in Santiago and no other routes, such as CH-60 in the Valparaíso Region, which he said has "the most expensive toll in all of Chile."
Deputy César Valenzuela rejected presenting the reduction as a benefit. "All Chileans will pay for the reduction in TAG costs through longer concession terms," he said.
Francisco Crisóstomo, a deputy for Ñuble and a member of the Transport Committee, criticized the announcement's focus on the capital. "President, Chile does not end at Santiago; the regions need support now," he said.
The sources do not detail how much revenue the concession operator would lose from the reduction or how much it would earn during the additional 20 months, the key calculation for determining who benefits from the agreement. For now, the next step is the administrative review, which must be completed before the reduction takes effect on January 1, 2027.
