14 DAY TRIAL // The South American nation of Bolivia is pressing ahead with its plans of constructing an underground tunnel through the Arica region of northern Chile. The country has been trying to regain its long-lost access to the Pacific Ocean for more than 100 years, and it would now appear that the goal is closer than ever. What the country is trying to do is basically connect its landmass with an artificial island in the Pacific, through an underground tunnel, Reuters reports.
Bolivia has been left without sea access since the War of the Pacific (1879-1883), when Chile annexed many territories belonging to both Bolivia and Peru. Various solutions have been attempted, but now the borders between these countries are well established and cannot be easily changed. Therefore, the Bolivian government came up with this plan, which some call brilliant and others useless. The tunnel that is to connect the country with its artificial island would mean that the nation would finally gain access to the commercial opportunities represented by the Pacific Ocean. Its economy would undoubtedly only stand to gain from this.
The issue now is that Chile and Peru are disputing their marine borders, and the island falls right in the middle of things. Peruvian officials say that the island falls well within their territorial waters. Unfortunately, Chilean authorities argue the exact same thing. “Neither Chile or Peru will lose not one centimeter of land and at the same time its a solution to Bolivia's problem […] to communicate with the great Pacific ocean with all its economic characteristics,” the planner behind the tunnel, architect Carlos Martner, explains. “I don't want to think that this demand […] of water access between Peru and Chile will affect and delay one of the possible historical solutions for sovereign access to the sea,” Bolivian President Evo Morales adds.
While Chile is sure to invest in the tunnel project with Bolivia – as the economic benefits of the road will befall the nation as well – all three countries need to come to an agreement if the link is to be created, analysts say. Building the tunnel and then not being able to use it because of political disputes would be catastrophic to investors from all three states. At this point, there is no telling how the negotiations will go, but, at least in theory, all three nations should have the same objective in mind.