On 11 April 2016, a ceremony was held at the Argentine Foreign Ministry's Palacio San Martín, on the occasion of the creation of the Argentina-Chile Binational Entity for the “Las Leñas Pass International Tunnel” Project.
The purpose of this new binational entity is to define the best technical and economic alternative for the building of a low-height tunnel connecting both countries at the Las Leñas pass sector, between the southern part of the Province of Mendoza (San Rafael) and the Region of Libertador General Bernardo O’Higgins, in Chile.
The projected length of the tunnel is 11.5 km, to be built at a height of approximately 2000 metres. The features of the initiative will make it possible for the pass to operate all year round, while guaranteeing lower costs of operation and maintenance during the winter season due to its low height.
The event was presided over by the Argentine Vice-Minister of Foreign Affairs, Carlos Foradori, and was attended by the Minister of Transport, Guillermo Dietrich; the Governor of Mendoza, Alfredo Cornejo; the Chilean Minister of Public Works, Alberto Undurraga Vicuña; the Chilean Ambassador, José Antonio Viera Gallo; and the Argentine Ambassador to Chile, José Octavio Bordón.
Foreign Vice-Minister Foradori noted that the initiative "is a long-held dream of the Province of Mendoza and the Libertador Bernardo O'Higgins Region, which will make it possible to strengthen integration based on the complementarity and cultural affinities between the two regions.
The completion of this project will also enhance the infrastructure and connectivity between the Atlantic and the Pacific Oceans, which is a top item on the agenda of both countries, as well as a regional priority." In this respect, Foradori noted that "the term EBILEÑAS has entered the shared language of the two countries," adding that "this acronym will never become just another entry in the catalogue of failed international ventures." Finally, he concluded that "our peoples, rather than paperwork, will take the decisions about our shared destiny."