The Foundation manages the Sanctuary, promoting the sustainable use of available resources while preserving the natural and cultural values of the land, including the development of a management plan that incorporates the nine defined conservation targets.
The organization maintains relationships with stakeholders like communities, coordinating and supervising scientific research activities and the development and implementation of ecosystems conservation, protection and restoration.
Located in the San José de Maipo District, Cordillera province of the Metropolitan Region, the area was established in 1942 as Fundo Cruz de Piedra, with 97,300 hectares of great value, both as an environmental heritage – due to its many pristine, high-mountain natural resources - and as a strategic geopolitical asset, since it borders Argentina.
Empresas GASCO, the predecessor of GASCO Inversiones, acquired this property in 1986 as a long-term asset for future development. A new administration took over in 2010 and assumed the responsibility of safeguarding and conserving its native fauna and flora.
In 2023, GASCO Inversiones established the Cruz de Piedra Foundation, the entity responsible for the administration and stewardship of the Santuario de la Naturaleza Cruz de Piedra, of approximately 93,000 hectares. The Foundation’s strategic targetive is the conservation and protection of this extensive territory. The company kept the remaining 4,346 hectares, which can be used for other purposes.
Messrs. José Tomás Urmeneta and Maximiano Errázuriz are awarded the bid for Santiago’s public gas lighting, which begins on September 17th, 1857, with the lighting of the Municipal Theater on its opening night.
The gas lighting company becomes a corporation under the name of Compañía de Gas de Santiago (Santiago Gas Company). In 1887 the company is it is renamed Compañía de Consumidores de Gas de Santiago (Santiago Gas Consumer Company).
Compañía de Consumidores de Gas de Santiago is awarded the bid for providing the utility scale liquefied gas distribution in the province of Santiago and begins selling this fuel.
Opening of GASCO's Maipú Plant, the company's first liquefied gas bottling and distribution plant.
Feasibility studies to import natural gas from Argentina to central Chile begin.
The Board of Directors, chaired by Mr. Pablo Pérez Zañartu, decides to carry out strategic investments, among others, the acquisition of a piece of land known as Cruz de Piedra, in Cajón del Maipo. Years later, the GASANDES gas pipeline would run through this property.
GASCO, jointly with Nova Corporation and AES Gener, begins planning for the first and largest gas pipeline to connect the Metropolitan Region in Chile with the Province of Mendoza in Argentina.
Chile and Argentina sign the historic gas integration protocol.
Construction of the GASANDES gas pipeline begins.
On August 7th, 1997, the GASANDES gas pipeline was inaugurated, attendees including presidents of Chile, Mr. Eduardo Frei Ruiz-Tagle and Argentina, Mr. Carlos Menem.
In December, the Extraordinary Shareholders' Meeting of Empresas GASCO S.A. approves the demerge of the Company into two separate entities: The company that would retain the energy business and the new GASCO Inversiones S.A. (GASCO Investments), which would not be involved in the energy business, but manage other types of investments and assets, mainly real estate.
The application for the creation of the Cruz de Piedra Nature Sanctuary is submitted to the Ministry of the Environment, supported by Universidad de Chile’s School of Forestry and Nature Conservation, and scholars from the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile.
The Cruz de Piedra Foundation is created, responsible for the management of the future nature sanctuary.
The Council of Ministers for Sustainability and Climate Change unanimously approves the request to declare Cruz de Piedra a Nature Sanctuary. On November 30th, the respective Decree N°34 is published.
The Cruz de Piedra Nature Sanctuary Management Plan is prepared with the support of Universidad de Chile’s School of Forestry and Nature Conservation.
