{"id":65536,"date":"2010-06-14T18:09:13","date_gmt":"2010-06-14T17:09:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.etendues-sauvages.com\/actualites\/2010\/06\/14\/a-tunnel-beneath-the-bolivian-desert\/"},"modified":"2010-06-14T18:09:13","modified_gmt":"2010-06-14T17:09:13","slug":"a-tunnel-beneath-the-bolivian-desert","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.etendues-sauvages.com\/en\/news\/2010\/06\/14\/a-tunnel-beneath-the-bolivian-desert\/","title":{"rendered":"A Tunnel Beneath the Bolivian Desert"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>What do a tunnel under a desert, an artificial island, a sea administered by three countries, and a lithium deposit have in common?
\nAnswer: Bolivia<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Indeed, two projects currently under discussion in Bolivia may well change the face of this country, often described as the poorest in South America.<\/p>\n

One rests on historical facts, reports by prominent economists, and strong political will.
\nLandlocked at the heart of the continent, Bolivia has never stopped claiming access to the sea from its Pacific neighbours since the late 19th century. Following the War of the Pacific against Chile<\/a>, Bolivia lost some 400 km of coastline.
\nAccording to a report by prominent American economists, \u201ca country without a port loses between 0.6% and 1% of its GDP each year\u201d. On this basis, Bolivia has therefore lost 4 billion dollars over the past ten years!
\nA financial trifle that reinforces a fierce national determination to obtain sovereign access to the sea \u2014 a permanent objective of the Bolivian state and a right enshrined in the country’s Constitution!<\/p>\n

Today, a bold project by three Chilean architects is under review: it concerns a 150 km tunnel that would give Bolivia access to the sea and, at the same time, settle the maritime disputes between Peru<\/a> and Chile.
\nThe tunnel would run through northern Chile, beneath the border with Peru, and emerge onto an artificial island in the Pacific, built using the tunnel’s excavated material. The island would belong to Bolivia and sit within a new sea named the \u201cSea of Concord\u201d, which would be administered by the three countries.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Source: “Atlas g\u00e9opolitique des espaces maritimes”, \u00e9ditions Technip<\/em><\/p>\n

In this way, Bolivia would finally have an outlet to the sea, allowing it to export its raw materials (hydrocarbons and minerals), which would help finance the cost of the tunnel.<\/p>\n

The other project rests on the exploitation of lithium deposits in Bolivia.
\nThis mineral is estimated to exist in very large quantities beneath the Salar de Uyuni<\/a>, the largest salt flat in the world, as well as in Chile and Argentina<\/a>. Unofficially, the reserves of these three countries are said to represent 70% of the world’s lithium reserves.<\/p>\n

Widely regarded as the energy of the future, lithium is one of the two main substances \u2014 along with nickel \u2014 used in the manufacture of future electric batteries.
\n\"\"<\/a>
\nLittle wonder, then, that the price of lithium has risen from $300 to $3,000 in three years.
\nLittle wonder, then, that Bolivian President Evo Morales is mobilising the press and developing a policy to attract foreign investment into his country.
\nLittle wonder, then, that Bollor\u00e9 is investing in Bolivia for its Bluecar electric vehicle.<\/p>\n

Will Bolivia<\/a> become a new world power thanks to these two projects? Nothing is less certain.
\nOn one hand, the tunnel project is truly titanic. But then again, wasn’t the Channel Tunnel built?
\nOn the other, the reserves are already there, within the country. All that remains is to exploit them. Quickly. Before a new form of energy comes along.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

What do a tunnel under a desert, an artificial island, a sea administered by three countries, and a lithium deposit have in common? Answer: Bolivia. Indeed, two projects currently under discussion in Bolivia may well change the face of this country, often described as the poorest in South America. One rests on historical facts, reports […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":64731,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"tags":[2855,2856,2229,2231,2857,2440,2858,2859,2860],"class_list":["post-65536","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mood-pieces","tag-batterie-lithium","tag-bolivie","tag-chili","tag-desert","tag-pacifique","tag-perou","tag-salar-de-uyuni","tag-tunnel","tag-voiture-electrique"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.etendues-sauvages.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/65536","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.etendues-sauvages.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.etendues-sauvages.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.etendues-sauvages.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=65536"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.etendues-sauvages.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/65536\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.etendues-sauvages.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/64731"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.etendues-sauvages.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=65536"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.etendues-sauvages.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=65536"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}