The government decided to exclude the expansion of Santiago Uno prison from its upcoming tender, according to CNN Chile. The reason is that the legal dispute brought by the Municipality of Santiago against the project remains pending. CNN Chile in turn cites information published by La Tercera.
The prison’s new concession will include only the operation of the facility. It will not cover construction of new high- and maximum-security units intended for inmates linked to organized crime.
The Undersecretariat of Justice explained the decision in a statement. "The planned expansion works cannot be carried out until the legal challenge filed by the Municipality of Santiago is resolved," it said. For that reason, it added, the tender will include "only the operation of the facility, without expansion works".
The project called for three high-security units and one maximum-security unit. Gabriel Boric’s government announced the expansion, and President José Antonio Kast’s administration subsequently backed it. That meant the project had the support of two governments from opposite sides of the political spectrum.
The courts brought the project to a halt. Santiago’s 17th Civil Court provisionally suspended the administrative acts that allowed construction to proceed. It did so following a legal action filed by the municipality led by Mayor Mario Desbordes. The source does not detail the arguments in the municipality’s lawsuit or when it might be resolved.
The deadlines explain the executive branch’s urgency. Santiago Uno’s current contract was extended until November 8, 2027, so the prison’s operation must be put out to tender again before that date, with or without the expansion.
Under the original schedule, the expansion contract was to be awarded during the first half of 2027. Construction would begin in 2029, and the new units would enter service in 2031. Separating operation from expansion allows the facility to continue operating, although it leaves the expansion intended for highly dangerous inmates on hold.
Until a court ruling allows the project to resume, the executive branch will proceed with a new tender for the prison’s operation without including the expansion. There is no information on how the new units would be incorporated if the court rules in the government’s favor.
