Displaying items by tag: Chile

Rapidly spreading port strikes in export-dependent Chile are taking a growing toll on copper, fruit and wood pulp shipments in the world's leading red metal producer, mining and export sources told Reuters on Wednesday.

The Angamos port in Mejillones launched a strike about three weeks ago to seek a 30-minute lunch break, and other ports have since joined the work stoppage in solidarity. "This strike can end today or it can last 10 more days," Angamos union leader Enrique Solar told Reuters.

Chile is losing more than $200 million a day due to the conflict, according to the country's business chamber.

One shift of workers at the Valparaiso port joined the strike movement on Wednesday, bringing operations there to "half steam," a port worker told Reuters. The ports of Iquique, Antofagasta, Huasco, Caldera, San Antonio and around six smaller ports in the southern Bio Bio region are already on strike, a union leader said.

The port of Arica in the copper-producing North could also join the strike, Iquique port union leader Cesar Luna told Reuters. Around eight boats are waiting in front of the Northern port of Iquique and six are bidding time in Mejillones, Luna said, adding some ships had been re-routed to Peru.

Experts say presidential elections in November have also contributed to an uptick in labor unrest.

WOOD PULP ALSO HIT

In addition to mining metal, Chile is also a big producer of wood pulp, fruits, wine and salmon.

Fruit growers in most of Chile's central-southern regions will temporarily halt harvesting as of Friday, as some 1,600 containers sit at the San Antonio port and producers' losses already total some $50 million, fruit trade group Fedefruta said.

Those losses could climb to $400 million if the strike continues through April, the group added.

Meanwhile, three of forestry and paper company CMPC's units have suspended exports, with 42,000 tonnes of wood pulp waiting to be put on ships, the company's general secretary Gonzalo Garcia said.

"We calculate that the effects of this strike will be felt two months after operations have restarted because the traffic jam at ports will be huge and there will be a long line to load ships," Garcia said.

Chilean stocks fell for a third consecutive session Wednesday, with construction and industrial stocks pulling back from recent gains in the wake of a huge earthquake that will require significant effort to rebuild and repair infrastructure.

Chile's IPSA equity index fell 1.5% to 3,708, pushing its three-day loss tally to more than 3%.

Pulp and paper products providers also struggled, with companies dealing with flooded and damaged facilities. Stock in Empresas CMPC fell 1.6%, extending losses of 2.8% on Tuesday after the company declared force-majeure for an initial period of 30 days because of the earthquake.

At the same time, shares of Copec slumped 4.3%, adding on to losses of more than 2% on Tuesday.

Also Wednesday, the Chilean government raised the death toll from Saturday's earthquake to 799. More than 2 million people have been displaced, and Chile has asked for aid from other countries.

The Sustainable Social Housing in Wood Design Contest (Visumad in Spanish), organized by Universidad del Bío Bío, ARAUCO and Un Techo Para Chile Foundation, celebrated its award ceremony on January 6, at the Regional Government headquarters of Chile's VIII Region.

During the ceremony headed by Regional Intendant Jaime Tohá, first place was given to Rafael Anguita and José Becerra, a team of architects from Barcelona. Additionally, two honorary mentions were given to Santiago teams and three proposals were qualified as "suggested projects", one of which belonged to a team from San Pedro de la Paz, a community in the province of Concepción.

This initiative, which is part of the Public – Private Cooperation Agreement for the Development of the Arauco Territory, signed last June between the Regional Government, ARAUCO and the Arauco 7 Municipality Association, seeks to strengthen the region's forestry and wood identity, create new job opportunities and support economic development and social integration of the communities in the Arauco Province.

Iván Chamorro, ARAUCO's Corporate Responsibility and Public Affairs manager, pointed out that these are high standard social housing designs which include energy savings, neighborhood aspects and the incorporation of wood. "We're proud to be a part of this because we are an international company that has not forgotten its roots, and these are in Arauco. In this sense, we find this is an essential initiative that puts the intelligence and talent of the company, the academic world and the people to service in an area that is very precarious", he said.

Projects
First place was awarded to José Becerra and Andrés Anguita, whose project has been recognized for its use of a flexible system of housing typologies, creating variety and reinforcing the resident's identity. The houses are arranged in such a way that it creates good community areas with a social headquarter, emphasizing the notion of community life.

The home has a central basic nucleus for kitchen, bathrooms and a stairway that leads to the second floor, facilitating diverse arrangements for bedrooms, den and dining room with the possibility for future extensions. It integrates wood in its structure as well as in divisions and details. Also, the housing complex and each home individually take advantage of the solar radiation, reducing energy costs for light and heat.

As an alternative to traditional insulation, the project proposes the use of material manufactured using recycled paper that has low thermal conductivity, providing protection from summer heat and contention for heat inside the home, and providing excellent acoustic insulation as well.

One of two projects awarded with an honorary mention, belongs to Juan Pablo Ivanovic, Tomás Milnes and Pablo Valdivia. It was distinguished for creating a flexible home unit that can be enlarged, with community areas that generate identity and the combination of technical requirements and resource economy.

The project also presents three sustainability strategies: it defines the position of the houses in relation to the sun's path in order to provide the most sunlight; the house is designed with a wood structure based on prefabricated and industrialized modules, which simplifies construction and allows for it to be taken apart and moved; and the project proposes the installation of a sunlight collector on the roof of each home.

The other project that was awarded an honorary mention belongs to Rodolfo de la Paz, Laura Villanueva, Horacio Croxatto, Paola Adrovez, Daniel Díaz and Rafael Bas. It is based on a group of homes that emphasizes the notion of a neighborhood, set along a central community area that favors pedestrian circulation, eliminating the automobile direct accesses to homes (using a common parking area) which promotes neighbor interaction. The project also proposes maximization of space, auto construction, energy costs reduction and even the use of non organic waste.

The prizes for the winning projects were 2.5 million pesos for first place, and 600 thousand pesos for each of the honorary mentions.

The contest was organized by the Architecture, Construction and Design Faculty of Universidad del Bío Bío, ARAUCO and the Un Techo para Chile (A Roof for Chile) Foundation. It as sponsored by the Chilean Chamber of Construction, the Architects School of Chile, the Concepción regional delegation, the Arauco Plan, the National Project for Energy Efficiency, the VIMAD Project – CYTED Network, Bío Bío Region SERVIU, the Latin American Union of Architecture Schools and Faculties and CORMA – CTT.