A total of 47 domestic and foreign companies had bought the prequalification documents and 11 teams had submitted applications.
Silva said that they are major companies with the technical skills and financial strength needed for the project.
The 2,600m bridge across the Chacao Channel will be the longest suspension bridge in South America. Investment in the project has been capped at US$740 million.
Only three bidders had been interested when the project was originally tendered in 2005. The bridge was one of several projects planned to commemorate Chile's bicentennial in 2010 but the cost rose from an initial US$410 million in 2005 to US$930 million and the project was suspended. Design, financing, construction, operation and maintenance was to have been carried out by the Chiloé Bicentennial Bridge Consortium, consisting of Vinci, Hochtief, American Bridge, Besalco and Tecsa.
Tendering is now set to start in the first half of this year, with the project awarded in the first quarter of 2014 ready for work on site to start in 2015 for completion in 2019.
