In Chile, more than 50 companies have reported non-payment by Tapusa
In Chile’s Biobío Region, more than 50 subcontractors and suppliers of the Spanish construction company Tapusa have reported unpaid bills totaling approximately 3 billion Chilean pesos, or $3.3 million. On August 20, they organized a protest featuring a convoy of construction equipment outside the Concepción City Hall and the regional Serviu office, according to The Rio Times.
According to the publication, on May 5, Chile’s Ministry of Housing and Urban Development (Minvu) terminated three Serviu contracts in the Greater Concepción area. These projects include the Esmeralda overpass, a section of the Colón–Perales transportation corridor in Concepción, and the Perales interchange on the Concepción–Talcahuano highway. A separate municipal contract for road paving also remains uncompleted.
Local companies supplied these projects with equipment, materials, formwork, labor, and transportation services. One of the affected firms, Ingeniería CMX, has filed claims totaling more than 600 million Chilean pesos related to factoring transactions. According to the publication, the company sold its invoices to a financial firm, which is demanding payment regardless of whether Tapusa settles its debt.
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Housing Minister Iván Poduhé previously stated that the company had acted as a bad-faith debtor and announced his intention to file lawsuits in four regions. Minvu and Serviu insist that Tapusa is responsible for payments to subcontractors, and that the affected companies should take their cases to court.
In a memorandum dated August 7, Podukhe noted that in cases involving factoring loans, Serviu must act in accordance with court rulings and cannot make payments or withhold funds outside the scope of such rulings. Marcela Cuevas of Ingeniería CMX stated that legal proceedings could take three to four years, and small businesses might not be able to withstand such a long wait.
According to The Rio Times, infrastructure projects will remain unfinished until new bids for the work are held.
