The agency submitted the Consolidated Environmental Impact Assessment Report, stating that it complies with applicable regulations.

The Environmental Assessment Service (SEA) submitted the Consolidated Assessment Report on the Environmental Impact Study for the “Kimal-Lo Aguirre HVDC Power Transmission Line” project, recommending the approval of this megaproject that aims to connect the Antofagasta region with the Metropolitan region using high-voltage direct current (HVDC) technology, with a route of 1,346 kilometers and an estimated investment of US$1.48 billion.

“The project complies with the applicable environmental regulations identified in section 11 of this document; and, taking into account the effects, characteristics, or circumstances established in Article 11 of the Law, it proposes appropriate mitigation, compensation, or remediation measures,” states the public agency’s document, recommending approval of the initiative, whose transmission capacity of 600 kV will be 3,000 MW.

This consolidated report concludes that the project complies with applicable environmental regulations and proposes appropriate mitigation and compensation measures for the identified effects.

Proposed Mitigation and Compensation

To address the impacts, the owner must implement a total of 32 mitigation, remediation, and compensation measures. These include:

Fauna: installation of flight deterrents in sensitive areas of the transmission line to mitigate the risk of bird collisions.

Cultural Heritage: permanent archaeological monitoring, demarcation or fencing of sites, surface collection of finds, and archaeological rescue of sites.

Indigenous Communities: multiple Management Plans are being considered for the enhancement of sites of cultural significance, as well as a productive and cultural support plan to promote livestock farming for the CID Mishqui Guintui Cachiyuyo. Likewise, the SEA recorded a process of indigenous consultation and participation, which included minutes and final agreements with local communities in the regions involved. “Minutes of delivery and Final Agreement Protocols (PAF) are recorded with communities such as CID Los Morteros Hijos del Valle, CID Chipasse Te Sacha, and CID Mishqui Guintui Cachiyuyo, among others, with their respective means of verification,” the report states.

Soil: A measure for agricultural soil compensation has been proposed.

The SEA’s final recommendation is based on the fact that the owner has corrected the errors and omissions in the process, proposing appropriate measures for the effects, characteristics, or circumstances that gave rise to the need to generate the Environmental Impact Study.