Government aims to fast-track permits for investment in Chile

The National Evaluation and Productivity Commission (CNEP) received a new mandate from the Government of Chile to analyze priority sectoral permits for investment, identify barriers in the process, and propose improvements in their efficiency, predictability, and stability. The purpose of this study is to obtain the necessary information to develop policies that boost productivity in sectoral permits.

The study will be titled “Analysis of priority sectoral permits for investment in Chile”, and will be divided into two stages: the first stage will identify the priority sectoral permits required for the development of investment projects in Chile; and the second stage will propose recommendations to implement an efficient, predictable, and stable system for processing sectoral permits.

Initially, the document will address the purpose of the permits, the procedure for obtaining permits, the relationship between permits, and administrative review techniques. It will also identify international best practices and define priority permits to be included in the assessment, based on updated qualitative and quantitative evidence.

The proposals for the second stage aim to promote the development of sustainable investment projects, while ensuring that the assessment procedures continue to safeguard the quality of such projects and the protection of legal rights granted through sectoral permits.

«The institution has insisted on the need to implement measures that facilitate the mobilization of funds toward complex investment projects, while taking care to maintain the standards that the corresponding permits were designed to protect», said the CNEP in a press release. The commission expects the study to be completed within a period of three months.

New Review

This is not the first time that the CNEP has reviewed Chile’s permit system. In 2019, the commission published a “Regulatory Review of Strategic Sectors”, which identified 400 permits required for investments in sectors including mining, energy, real estate, infrastructure, and industry, prioritizing 23 key permits.

On this occasion, the CNEP will conduct a more detailed analysis of those 23 permits, specifically focusing on priority permits for investments in Chile. From this starting point, it will identify all permits that must be obtained for any investment project (regardless of the sector), and the specific sectoral permits that must be obtained for investment projects in key sectors of Chile’s economy.

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