Despite a record $41.5 billion investment portfolio, environmental project approvals in Chile are facing increasing delays, according to a new study by Smart Compliance. The firm’s analysis challenges recent goverment claims of streamlined processes, revealing a lengthening timeline for both large-scale and smaller projects-with EIA assessments now taking nearly 1,000 days on average. The findings raise concerns about potential impacts to economic growth and underscore a growing divergence between official reports and on-the-ground realities for investors.
Environmental project approvals in Chile are taking longer under the current administration, according to a new study from Smart Compliance, a firm specializing in permitting and environmental compliance. The findings come as the country’s investment portfolio reached a record high of over $41.5 billion, despite government claims of streamlined approval processes.
The Chilean government’s Environmental Assessment Service (SEA) recently reported a 20% to 30% reduction in evaluation times for large projects. However, Smart Compliance’s analysis challenges that assertion, revealing a different trend.
The consultancy’s review focused on projects exceeding $120 million – representing 10% of approved projects since March 2018, but concentrating 71% of the $8.3 billion in approved investment over the last eight years. The study found that Environmental Impact Assessments (EIAs) for these large-scale projects are taking increasingly longer, rising from an average of 650 to 850 days (approximately two years) between 2018 and 2022, to nearly 1,000 days (two years and nine months) between 2022 and 2026.
“The SEA’s claim doesn’t find clear support in the data,” the firm stated. While the evaluation timelines for Declarations of Environmental Impact (DIAs) showed a different pattern for large projects, Smart Compliance found it didn’t support a generalized reduction in processing times compared to the previous administration.
The situation is even more pronounced for smaller projects – those with investments of $120 million or less, which comprise 90% of all initiatives and 29% of the approved investment over the past eight years. Both EIAs and DIAs in this segment have experienced sustained increases in evaluation times, growing by an average of 44% (from one year and eleven months to two years and ten months) and 22% (from nine and a half months to one year), respectively.
Smart Compliance based its analysis on all projects currently listed as “Approved” within the Environmental Impact Assessment Service (SEIA) since January 1, 2014, and qualified between March 11, 2018, and January 15, 2026. The projects were then categorized by the administrations of former President Piñera and current President Boric.
“For each project in this universe (2,939 projects), ‘evaluation days’ were calculated as the number of calendar days between the date of entry into the SEIA and the date of the first RCA (Resolution of Environmental Qualification) issued by the SEA, whether favorable or not. This includes projects that achieved approval after administrative and/or judicial appeals,” the consultancy explained.
Factors Contributing to Delays
Experts at Smart Compliance attribute the increase in processing times to several factors. Raimundo Pérez, a partner at Smart Compliance and former prosecutor for the Environmental Superintendency, stated that, “While multiple factors are at play, our data indicates three key determinants that are likely related: increased volume and extended periods of evaluation suspension; a rise in the number and complexity of observations from government agencies; and a greater number of criteria and technical guides applied to projects submitted to the SEIA.”
The study shows that 1,165 projects have been approved under the Boric administration, compared to 1,774 authorized during the Piñera II administration. During that time, average EIA and DIA approval times increased by 39% and 23%, respectively. This data suggests a potential slowdown in the approval process despite record investment levels.
Pérez explained that the primary regulatory difference between the administrations was two modifications to the SEIA regulations and the issuance of more criteria and technical guides under the Boric administration compared to the Piñera II administration. “The Boric administration approved fewer projects, with longer processing times for both DIAs and EIAs, although the total investment amount was higher compared to Piñera II,” he added.
The lawyer suggested that streamlining environmental approvals doesn’t necessarily require legal reform. He emphasized the importance of focusing technical debate on the core environmental impacts of projects, filtering out irrelevant observations from agencies, addressing evaluation suspension times, and ensuring that criteria and technical guides meet three conditions: protecting the environment, increasing legal certainty, and reducing project processing times.
Looking ahead, Pérez believes the key challenge for the incoming administration of José Antonio Kast will be to reverse the trend of increasing approval times “without reducing environmental protection standards and increasing the technical predictability of environmental assessment.”
Government Response
The Environmental Assessment Service (SEA) stated that processing times have decreased for certain large investment projects during 2025. This reduction is observed in specific projects approved in 2025, with their processing times compared to the annual average. According to the SEA, the total days of processing at the SEIA have been shortened based on the characteristics of each initiative.
“For example, the HVDC Kimal – Lo Aguirre Transmission Line Project ($1.48 billion USD) took 744 days to process, compared to the 2025 annual average of 1,024 days, reducing total processing days by approximately 27%,” the Service stated.
The agency highlighted that this is the largest project it has ever evaluated in terms of scope, spanning 1,346 kilometers across five regions and 28 municipalities. The SEA dedicated a special team of approximately 20 professionals to the project, supplemented by another 20 staff members for public participation efforts, to ensure it was evaluated to the highest standards and in compliance with all environmental regulations. This evaluation included one of the largest public participation processes in its history, with 183 activities in 32 municipalities and the participation of 2,200 people who submitted 16,700 observations.
Another example cited by the SEA is the Volta – Green Hydrogen and Ammonia Plant Project ($2.5 billion USD), which took 652 days to process, representing a decrease of approximately 36% compared to the 2025 annual average of 1,024 days for EIA projects.
