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Between March 11 and the end of August 2026, Chile's environmental review system (SEIA) cleared US$32.923 billion in projects — the highest total for any government's opening stretch in at least 20 years.
- Three ventures drive the surge: HNH Energy's US$11 billion green hydrogen plant in Magallanes, the US$5 billion Aguas Marítimas desalination project, and the US$4 billion San Antonio outer port.
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President José Antonio Kast used the figures at the UN General Assembly on September 22 to declare "Chile is back," though analysts warn that approval is not the same as construction.
The investment that made it through environmental review during the government's first half-year has become the card the governing coalition holds up as proof of a turning point. Between March 11 and the close of August 2026, the Environmental Impact Assessment System granted favorable rulings to ventures worth US$32.923 billion, a sum authorities and the trade press tend to round to roughly US$33 billion.
