Chile's Congress Approves Law to Speed Permits

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Written by Amir Richani for Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--The Chilean Congress approved a law on July 1 that speeds and optimizes permit-processing times, making them between 30% and 70% faster, depending on a project's requirements. The law aims to attract foreign investment to multiple industries nationwide and reduce waiting times while maintaining high standards.

According to an interview with Minister of Economy Nicolas Grau by Tele 13, larger projects could reduce their permitting times by 30%, while for smaller to medium-sized enterprises, it could be up to 70%.

This will be achieved by modifying the sequential requirements of the permits to a parallel mechanism, enabling investors to apply for multiple permits simultaneously.

According to the economy minister, this law could result in a 0.25% or more annual increase in the country's gross domestic product.

The law contemplates the implementation of a unified permit system, called the SUPER platform, as well as the use of sworn declarations or notices instead of low-risk permits without lowering regulatory standards.

"Our assessment as the Executive Branch is that one of the main reasons why sectoral permits take so long is because services are backed up. That is why we are convinced that, with the sworn declarations, we will allow all efforts to be dedicated to the authorizations that truly entail risk, and that will allow for a timely response," said Grau.

This initiative will help expedite mining permit approvals across Chile at a crucial time. The South American country has opened dozens of lithium production areas to private investment, aiming to develop the industry, with multiple companies interested in exploiting those salt flats.

At the same time, the country has a mining portfolio for 2024-2033 of US$83 billion, comprising 51 mining projects. About 89% of the portfolio's investments pertain to copper projects, while the remaining ones are for other minerals.

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