Chile’s Ministry of Public Works opened the economic bids for the concession of the Ruta 5 Río Bueno–Puerto Montt section, with participating bidders in southern Chile. 

The financial proposals submitted by Sacyr Concesiones Chile SpA, Intervial Chile SA, and Grupo Costanera SpA were opened after their technical bids were approved by the evaluation committee. Among them, Intervial Chile SA’s offer initially stood out. The tender process now moves into the assessment of financial bids, with the contract award anticipated in the first half of 2026.

The project, which involves an investment of USD 821 million, will modernize 129 km of Route 5 South through works such as the expansion to third lanes in approximately 79 km, new links and crossings, 147 km of service roads and 33 km of bike paths. This action marks the comprehensive improvement of Route 5 South from the Pilmaiquén River in the municipality of San Pablo to the Cardonal interchange in the municipality of Puerto Montt, in the Los Lagos Region. The route encompasses the municipalities of San Pablo, Osorno, Río Negro, and Purranque in the province of Osorno; and Frutillar, Llanquihue, Puerto Varas, and Puerto Montt in the province of Llanquihue.

With the new concession, approximately 79 km of the current Route 5 will be widened to three lanes in both directions: between the start of the concession north of the Pilmaiquén River and south of the Osorno commune (33 km), and from north of the Frutillar commune to south of the Cardonal interchange in the Puerto Montt commune (46 km). The project also includes the improvement and rehabilitation of existing infrastructure, the construction of new vehicular and pedestrian structures, and the implementation of an electronic toll collection system using "Multi Lane Free Flow" or electronic toll collection, among other road improvements. It also includes the rehabilitation of pavements, new walkways, bus stops and pedestrian circuits, the improvement of the lighting and drainage system of the route, a comprehensive update of road safety, CCTV cameras interconnected with the police, new service areas and emergency areas, areas for selling typical products, among other works.