Chile has received 1,135 tons of humanitarian aid from around the world since the earthquake on Feb. 27. (Evaristo Sa/AFP/Getty Images)

WASHINGTON, D.C., U.S.A. – Since the Feb. 27 earthquake, Chile has received 1,135 tons of humanitarian aid from around the world, said Mariano Fernández, the country’s foreign minister.

“The aid has been concurrent with the priorities set by the government and with the list of needs we forwarded to the countries around the world,” he said. “We would like to highlight the overwhelming Latin American response. We received pledges from countries less developed than Chile.”

Peru, Brazil, the United States, Venezuela, Mexico, Spain and Qatar, among others, are some of the countries that have taken the lead in helping the battered nation, the minister added.

Internally, Chilean President-elect Sebastián Piñera has requested outgoing president Michelle Bachelet to allow key members of her team, mostly those in the sectors of public works, home construction and sanitation, to work with his administration during reconstruction.

Piñera, who takes office March 11, made the request through the incoming minister of the interior, Rodrigo Hinzpeter, during a meeting with current minister Edmundo Pérez, local newspaper El Mercurio reported.

The goal is to expedite relief and reconstruction efforts before the rainy season begins in Southern Chile, Hinzpeter said.

Thousands of children returned to school on March 8 to mark the beginning of the school year. But not all of the schools were open, as many were destroyed or heavily damaged by the tremors or tsunamis. The students who were to attend those schools were transferred to nearby educational facilities.

Santiago’s Arturo Merino airport, one of the busiest in South America, is operating at 80% capacity, according to Sergio Bitar, the Chilean minister of public works, as quoted by Chinese news agency Xinhua. The terminal suffered damages to its ceiling and air conditioning ducts but sustained no other major structural damage, the minister added.

In a sign that Chile is still open for business, Bitar announced that the government is ready to open the bidding for a contract to build a new airport in the nation’s capital.

“Now, we have to go ahead with the construction of the new airport,” the minister said.

Foreign investors continue to see the potential of one of Latin America’s most stable economies, even after the devastating earthquake.

Canadian mining company Quadra and China’s largest utility company, State Grid International Development, announced a US$2 billion joint venture in the Sierra Gorda copper mine in Chile on March 8. The mine is expected to produce 450 million pounds of copper annually for the next 25 years, according to the Ottawa Citizen.