Santiago, Jul 25 (IANS): Chilean Ministers have met executives from the Chinese company Sinovac over the pharmaceutical firm's plan to create a potential vaccination production site.

The group visited a plot of land 28 km north of the city of Antofagasta on Friday, which could be the site of a future production plant for Covid-19 vaccines, the Chilean Ministry of Health said on Saturday.

It is estimated that the construction of the plant would be completed by the end of 2022, allowing operation to begin from 2023, said the Ministry, adding it would require an investment of about $60 million, reports Xinhua news agency.

The plant could "produce vaccines not only for Chile, but also for the rest of Latin America". Health Minister Enrique Paris said.

Sinovac Vice President Meng Weining said that the company had "achieved a production of 4 billion doses (of vaccine) per year".

"We have carried out clinical studies in this country, which have reaffirmed the excellence of Chilean medical and scientific teams," Meng added.

Currently, Chile has fully vaccinated 78.59 per cent of its target population against Covid-19, equivalent to almost 12 million people.

The country has registered 1,607,749 cases and 34,958 deaths from Covid-19 so far.