In March 2025, Chile saw the delivery of Iquique’s Diego Aracena Airport (IQQ), which became the second-largest air gateway in a country that stretches for most of the length of the Pacific side of the South American continent. The biggest remains Arturo Merino Benítez Airport, which serves the capital city of Santiago, and which processed 25 million passengers in 2024, a new record.

IQQ is managed by APORT Operaciones S.A., a subsidiary of Zurich Airport’s APORT S.A., and has undergone multiple concession rounds. In 2017, Chile’s Ministry of Public Works received bids for a 25-year concession covering:

• • Renovation and modernization of the second terminal

  • Expansion of parking and pedestrian areas

  • Upgrades to the existing terminal and runway system.

The winning consortium, Sociedad Concesionaria Aeropuerto Diego Aracena de Iquique, is the concessionaire until 2042. This makes Iquique one of several airports operated under Chile’s well-defined public-private partnership (PPP) framework, which has been central to the country’s infrastructure development strategy. It dates back to 1991.

Work at the airport terminal has expanded the passenger building by 150% and added new boarding bridges, among other improvements. Expansion works undertaken by the concessionaire at Iquique’s IQQ (see the list below) are costing more than USD62 million, and the handover by Public Works Minister Jessica López took place in March 2025.

Though IQQ is Chile’s second largest airport by size, it is only seventh in terms of passenger numbers, after (in order) Santiago, Antofagasta, Calama, Carriel Sur, and Puerto Montt. The number of passengers boarded at IQQ in 2024 reached 845,558, and up to February 2025, passenger numbers hit 164,473, with the first quarter comfortably exceeding a quarter million (see chart below). 

IQQ is just the latest in a list of airports that have benefited from Chile’s comprehensive approach to infrastructure privatization. Carlos Allimant, Partner and Chief Strategy Officer at Modalis Infrastructure Partners, commented: “APORT/Zürich has taken an impressive step at Iquique. The airport is up and running despite the failure of the original contractor, which filed for bankruptcy due to events not related to this concession.”

Allimant added: “Iquique is one of the few airports in the country that serves international flights. They are particularly active during the season when the export of seeds takes place. At that time, we see 747s landing one after the other at this facility.”

Below, we look at Chile’s privatization process since 2023, mainly with regard to airport upgrades and improvements, which laid the groundwork for IQQ’s success.

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