Original article: Chaqueta Blanca: RESCON, accesos exclusivos y conflicto de interés reabren dudas por probidad y fiscalización
The establishment of new waste management projects in the Chaqueta Blanca area of Antofagasta has reignited questions regarding compliance with environmental regulations, institutional changes in criteria, and previous connections of public officials to industry firms, in a crucial zone for waste disposal within the municipality.
The Chaqueta Blanca sector hosts critical infrastructure for waste disposal in the municipality, including a concessioned landfill and associated waste management projects. This area represents a convergence of public investments, long-term concessions, and decisions that have significant health, environmental, and urban implications for Antofagasta.
In April 2024, the Ministry of Bienes Nacionales granted a 64.83-hectare parcel of state land for the implementation of RESCON in Antofagasta, situated in the Chaqueta Blanca region. This concession was awarded to the Santa Marta Consortium for the management of construction and demolition waste.
The potential operation of a RESCON near the Chaqueta Blanca landfill raises questions not only about land use and the required protection zone stipulated by health regulations but also about the road access designed and funded specifically for the operation of the concessioned landfill. In the relevance consultation submitted to the Environmental Evaluation Service – PERTI-2024-6154 – the project claimed to include its own road access, independent weighbridge, control booth, and autonomous facilities, none of which have been realized on site to date.
At that time, it was noted that the land grant arose from the municipality’s need for a waste center. In this context, Bienes Nacionales issued a decree granting the property to the Santa Marta Consortium to commence the “Solid Waste Management” initiative, which would enable the disposal of approximately 60,000 cubic meters of debris generated in the city each year.
The concession was granted for a renewable period of 25 years, and the company had a deadline of 48 months to execute the project.
During that period, Antofagasta’s Secretary of Bienes Nacionales, Angelique Araya Hernández, highlighted that the initiative aimed to address a longstanding issue in the municipality involving the existence of illegal dumping sites, micro landfills, and even fires that threatened the health and quality of life of residents in the area.
Health Regulations, Exclusive Access, and Gaps in Oversight
However, it is important to recall that the Supreme Decree No. 189 from the Ministry of Health, which regulates the operation of landfills, mandates the maintenance of a protection zone of 300 meters within the site, where no buildings or service installations may be established during the operational life and closure of such infrastructures. Compliance with this regulation is not discretionary and must be supervised by the competent authorities.
“The project associated with the Sanitary Landfill must ensure a protection zone of 300 meters within the site, where no residential or service buildings can be constructed during its operational life and closure. The project must define the uses designated for the area where waste will be disposed of and the protection zone, without prejudice to existing urban planning and construction norms,” states Article 9 of the aforementioned decree.
The enforcement of this regulation is not subjective or reliant on administrative interpretations, and it necessitates oversight from appropriate agencies.
Administrative records indicate that the access road to the Chaqueta Blanca landfill was specifically designed for the operation of the Household Waste Treatment and Final Disposal Center. Furthermore, technical studies commissioned by the Antofagasta Municipality and conducted by public agencies and specialized consultants evaluated access alternatives based on road safety criteria and exclusive use and technical limitations for that facility.
In October 2022, this definition was reinforced when the Municipality of Antofagasta expressly stated that the access road from Route A-26 to the landfill was for exclusive use by the treatment center, dismissing the potential for its use by private initiatives, including the Santa Marta Consortium.
All of this was based on road safety concerns, considering the hazardous nature of the route; land use issues, due to the lack of profitability of new developments; and adherence to regulations, as there is an explicit prohibition against sharing publicly funded infrastructure with companies such as Santa Marta Consortium.
“The considerations disclosed by the Municipality of Antofagasta aim to declare that the municipal responsibility road, which corresponds to the access from Route A-26 to the Household Solid Waste Treatment and Final Disposal Center, is exclusive for this purpose. Therefore, no use or access permit will be authorized for any other private initiative considering it, including the Santa Marta Consortium,” the document signed by the then-mayor of Antofagasta, Jonathan Velásquez, states.
Oversight of adherence to these restrictions falls, within their respective competencies, to entities like the Municipality of Antofagasta, the Health Secretariat, the Environmental Evaluation Service, and the Environmental Superintendency, with no public pronouncement clarifying how the regulations are being enforced in this sector so far.
Despite this, recent decisions made during the last municipal administration appear to permit the transit of trucks associated with private initiatives through the same access defined as exclusive and built with public funds from the Regional Government of Antofagasta’s FNDR. This change in criteria has reopened questions regarding the consistency of administrative decisions and which agencies should oversee compliance with the previously established restrictions.
In this scenario, a crucial question arises today without a clear public answer: If the existing regulations prevent projects from being located within the landfill’s protection zone and restrict the use of its access points, what criteria have facilitated the allowance of private initiatives in the Chaqueta Blanca sector?
These regulatory and administrative inquiries are compounded by issues related to standards of integrity and the prevention of conflicts of interest within the Antofagasta Regional Government.
Previous Connections and Potential Conflicts of Interest
On another note, public records may raise questions regarding a potential conflict of interest in the Antofagasta Regional Government, following revelations of previous ties between former governor Arturo Molina Henríquez and waste management companies before he assumed the role of advisor to GORE.
According to records available on the Transparency Portal, Arturo Molina Henríquez served as a paid advisor for the Antofagasta Regional Government from September 8, 2025, to December 31 of the same year, with a gross salary of 3 million pesos.
Based on the information obtained from the portal, his duties focused on monitoring energy projects, promoting electromobility, inter-institutional coordination with the Energy Secretariat, and developing public charging infrastructure.
However, contractual documents indicate that Molina’s assigned role did not involve any responsibilities related to waste management, tenders, or contracts in that sector.
Nonetheless, records suggest that Molina may have been associated with the company Dimensión, involved in the management of household waste and currently holding the concession for the Chaqueta Blanca landfill, which is a strategic installation for the treatment and final disposal of waste in the municipality.
According to available information, in January 2026, Molina allegedly signed a site visit record on behalf of Dimensión, in the context of a tender from the Municipality of Antofagasta aimed at the collection, transportation, and final disposal of household waste.
In this vein, records indicate that Molina’s connection with the company extended to months before his incorporation into the Regional Government, as in April and May 2025, he participated as a Dimensión representative during site visits associated with tenders from GORE Antofagasta, related to the removal of illegal dumps in La Chimba and the cleaning of water lines and ravines in urban areas.
The intersection between these prior private dealings and his subsequent role as an advisor to the Regional Government raises questions about the possible existence of conflicts of interest, given the temporal proximity between the two roles and the strategic importance of the waste sector within the region.
Furthermore, official records indicate lobbying actions carried out by Arturo Molina Henríquez on behalf of the Santa Marta Consortium, reinforcing the necessity for administrative decisions in this area to be made with maximum transparency and strict adherence to current regulations.
This case unfolds in a context where waste management has gained particular importance in the region, involving projects with substantial environmental and financial impact. This publication attempted to reach Arturo Molina Henríquez to hear his version regarding these matters, but did not receive a response by the time of this edition’s closure.
Standards of Integrity and Conflict Prevention
Experts in administrative integrity point out that situations like this should be analyzed under the principle of conflict of interest prevention and the duty of abstention, especially when involving former officials or advisors with prior ties to companies participating in government contracts.
By the close of this report, a clear and coordinated public statement had not emerged from competent authorities regarding compliance with health regulations, the legality of shared access to exclusive points, and proper oversight, along with any potential safeguarding measures against possible conflicts of interest in the sector. In a matter with substantial environmental, sanitary, and financial implications, institutional silence does not clarify doubts but deepens them.
