The keys to 309 apartments have been handed to the Santiago 2023 Corporation by the Housing and Urbanism Service.

They will now be conditioned ready for around two-thirds of the 9,000 athletes that are set to compete across both Games later this year.

One building, named the E building, is set to house the Chilean team for both Games, with the spaces expected to be provided to families after Santiago 2023 thanks to housing subsidies.

"It is a source of pride and joy that this happens," said Minister of Housing and Urban Development Carlos Montes.

"You see the conditions in which these departments are, a very particular design and typical of this project, that makes us satisfied and we hope that it can also be said that the public sector meets the dates."

Santiago 2023 executive director Harold Mayne-Nicholls symbolically received the keys, adding: "Seeing the progress of this work and being in a position to start decorating it is a tremendous achievement. 

"We already have everything ready to start dressing these departments, to check that they are in good condition and that all those athletes who visit us receive a place where they can rest, prepare for their next competitions and, mainly, feel all that love and solidarity that we hope to give them during the Games."

The apartments are located at a site known as Los Villa Santiago 2023, which is in Cerrillos, in the southwest of the metropolitan region.           

Los Villa contains 17 towers of between six and 17 floors, which are more than 90 per cent complete.

The Santiago 2023 Pan American Games are due to be held from October 20 to November 5, with the Parapan American Games set to follow from November 17 to 26.