Penco city has exponentially grown in the last 15 years, especially since the opening of the Penco By Pass in 2008; a highway that cuts through the Biobio region of Chile, starting and ending in Penco.
Aclara owns a property of approximately 540 hectares that has been subject to high levels of intervention for decades by different industrial activities, the main ones being forestry, oil, real estate, as well as road building and sanitation industries.
Main sources of environmental impact in the area:
· Sanitary Landfill: Attached to the northeast area of the property is the Cemarc Waste Management Center, the main sanitary landfill of Concepción and other localities, which came into operation in October 2006 and is undergoing a process to extend operations for at least a further 20 years.
· Penco Real Estate Development: In the vicinity of the property, a strong real estate activity has been developed during the last 5 years, which has included the development of apartment buildings and houses for the locals of Penco, Concepción and neighboring towns.
· Oil Pipeline: The National Oil Company (ENAP) owns the oil pipeline that runs between the Bíobío Refinery, in the Hualpén commune (13 km from the center of Penco), and the city of San Fernando (355 km from Penco). Part of the pipeline crosses the property owned by Aclara.
· Itata Highway: The highway, which began construction in 1995, and is one of the most modern in the country, crosses a large part of the property owned by Aclara.
It should be noted that Aclara's Penco Module property is not close to protected areas or priority sites for the conservation of biodiversity. The closest reserve is the Nonguén National Reserve, located more than 15 km south of our project.
