Puerto de Lirquén S.A.

What it is

DP World Lirquén is Chile’s leading private public-service port, sitting on the Bay of Concepción, 500 km south of Santiago, with an installed handling capacity of roughly 7 million tonnes, six berths, and the largest yard and warehouse footprint in the region.

It is a multipurpose terminal with long-term maritime concessions, handling containers, break-bulk cargo, and dry bulk — strategically placed to serve Chile’s pulp, timber, and broader forestry industry in the country’s second-largest industrial zone.

General cargo makes up about 91% of what moves through Lirquén, and the port handles roughly 14.6% of all general cargo shipped out of Chile — a material share of the country’s export pipeline.

With deep-water berths and direct links to global lines including CMA CGM, Hamburg Süd, and Maersk, Lirquén connects southern Chilean industry to trade routes across Asia, the Americas, and beyond.

Who owns it

In April 2019, DP World — the Dubai state-owned port operator — completed a tender offer for Puertos y Logística S.A. (Pulogsa), the parent of Puerto Lirquén, receiving acceptances for 99.2% of shares at US$2.19 per share, for a total purchase price of roughly US$500 million.

Before the sale, the two main sellers were Minera Valparaíso S.A. and related entities of the Matte family group, which held 71.3%, and Celulosa Arauco and Empresas Copec of the Angelini group, with 23%.

Puertos y Logística S.A. — parent of Puerto Central and Puerto Lirquén — subsequently rebranded as DP World Chile, following a shareholder meeting that formalised the name change after DP World’s takeover.

The PUERTO.SN instrument on the Bolsa de Santiago represents listed debt (bonds), not traded equity; the operating company itself is a closed (non-publicly traded) subsidiary. DP World’s own majority shareholder is Dubai World, a state-owned investment fund.

Who runs it

The board of DP World Chile (the controlling parent) was set in 2019 with five members: Tiemen Meester as chair, alongside Marcelo Felberg, Otto Bottger, Jorge Marshall Rivera, and Gonzalo García.

Michael Spoerer has served as General Manager of DP World Lirquén, the operating terminal. The current management as of mid-2025 is not disclosed in available sources beyond that reference.

The money, in plain words

The most recent audited accounts publicly available cover the year ended 31 December 2018. Puerto Lirquén S.A. earned US$58.9 million in port service fees that year — up 14% from US$51.7 million in 2017 (our calculation).

After paying stevedoring costs and administration, it reported a net loss of US$1.25 million, a net margin of –2.1% (our calculation).

The thin margin is structural: the company’s functional currency is the US dollar, reflecting the internationally priced nature of port services, but its large workforce and concession costs are denominated in Chilean pesos, creating a currency cost mismatch when the peso strengthens. Audited figures for 2019–2024 have not been filed in any publicly accessible Chilean regulator or exchange database; the CMF filings for DP World Chile cover the parent, not the operating subsidiary separately.

What it is doing now

In 2024, Puerto Lirquén experienced congestion after vessels diverted to it from Puerto Coronel, which had been disrupted by a port strike — putting pressure on Lirquén’s container-train reception capacity.

On the infrastructure side, Lirquén operates the most extensive railway network in the Biobío region, connecting directly with state railway operators and freight carriers TRANSAP and FEPASA for seamless movement of forest cargo, containers, and bulk commodities.

What to watch

• Capacity expansion: DP World Chile’s investment plan targets new Gantry cranes for Lirquén’s berths and studies on additional capacity at its terminals — moves that would directly lift throughput and revenue potential.
• Cargo mix: Lirquén handled 4.5 million tonnes in 2021 and added vehicle imports as a new cargo type that year for the first time in its history — broadening beyond its traditional forestry base.
• Disclosure gap: No audited revenue or profit figures more recent than 2018 are publicly available for the operating subsidiary; investors in the PUERTO.SN bond should seek updated financials directly from DP World Chile’s investor relations.
• Parent risk: DP World is ultimately majority-owned by Dubai World, a state fund of the Emirate of Dubai — meaning Lirquén’s strategic direction and capital allocation sit inside a sovereign wealth structure thousands of kilometres away.

This is news, not investment advice.