Chile Water Infrastructure Investment Plan (2020-2050)

The challenge

Chile faces some of the world’s most diverse and complex water management challenges, ranging from extreme aridity in the north to highly water-abundant regions in the south. Climate change, growing water demand, technological disruption, and increasing uncertainty are placing new pressures on traditional infrastructure planning approaches.

In response, the Chilean Government developed the National Water Infrastructure Investment Plan 2020–2050. However, delivering long-term water security required more than identifying infrastructure projects. It required creating the institutional, financial, and innovation mechanisms needed to continuously adapt infrastructure systems as conditions evolve.

Our contribution

Altamira supported the Ministry of Public Works and the Inter-American Development Bank in developing an implementation and governance roadmap for the Plan.

The work focused on a fundamental question:

How can a national water infrastructure strategy remain adaptive, innovative, and investable over the next three decades under conditions of deep uncertainty?

The assignment included the design of:

• Public-private-academic collaboration mechanisms

• Innovation governance structures

• Strategic procurement approaches

• Blended finance and private-sector participation strategies

• Mechanisms for scaling emerging technologies

• Governance arrangements for adaptive water infrastructure planning

• Institutional models to support continuous learning and decision-making across river basins and regions

Key areas of work

1. Adaptive infrastructure planning

Developed recommendations to strengthen long-term investment planning under climate uncertainty through improved modelling, scenario analysis, and adaptive decision-making processes.

2. Innovation ecosystem design

Designed mechanisms to connect government agencies, universities, innovators, investors, and infrastructure operators to accelerate the identification, testing, and scaling of new water technologies and management approaches.

3. Blended finance and private sector participation

Developed strategies to expand the role of private capital and expertise beyond traditional concession models, enabling greater participation in innovation development, infrastructure delivery, and long-term water resilience investments.

4.Governance and institutional coordination

Proposed governance arrangements to strengthen coordination among national, regional, basin-level, public, and private actors involved in water infrastructure planning and implementation.

Strategic outcomes

The project generated a roadmap centred around six strategic pillars:

• Integrated portfolio-based infrastructure planning
• Enhanced hydro-economic planning and modelling capabilities
• National water innovation networks
• Mechanisms for scaling innovative solutions
• Public-private collaboration and blended finance models
• Basin-level governance and coordination structures

These recommendations were designed to help Chile move from static infrastructure planning toward a continuously evolving system capable of responding to climate, technological, economic, and social change.