The Chairman of GAS NATURAL FENOSA, Salvador Gabarró, and the Managing Director of the multinational and also Chairman of CGE, Rafael Villaseca, presented the gas infrastructure plan to the President of Chile, Michelle Bachelet. Through the distribution companies Metrogas and GasSur, the Spanish power company will invest 700 million dollars (635 million euros) over the next five years to bring a natural gas supply to seven new regions in the country, as well as expand its use in those areas where it already operates.
The initiative will allow 500,000 new homes to be connected over the next five years, benefiting some two million people. This plan is the first stage of a project that will last 10 years and require an investment of 1.1 billion dollars (approximately 1 billion euros), enabling gas to be supplied to almost 800,000 new homes.
Tarapacá, Antofagasta, Atacama, Maule, Araucanía, Los Ríos and Los Lagos are the new regions that will receive a natural gas supply over the next five years, thus joining the regions of Metropolitana and O’Higgins where Metrogas already operates. In total, 34 new municipalities will benefit from this project.
Growth of operations in Chile
During the course of the press briefing held today in Santiago de Chile, the Chairman of GAS NATURAL FENOSA, Salvador Gabarró, said that “the launch of this plan is a clear demonstration of our public intention to grow operations in Chile. We are committed to the development of Chile and improving quality of life for its people”.
In turn, the Managing Director, Rafael Villaseca, stressed that this plan will enable access to natural gas to spread to over 20% of the country, which will put Chile on a par with other countries in the region and the OECD.
GAS NATURAL FENOSA controls the distribution companies Metrogas and GasSur through CGE, the Chilean power company it acquired in late 2014. METROGAS is currently the leading gas distribution company in Chile, with close to 600,000 customers.