Public-private partnerships (PPP) made their début in Argentina this week when 10 business consortia presented bids to build 2,300 kilometres of roads in projects beginning in August.
On Tuesday, the government said that the 10 consortia – representing seven foreign firms and 19 Argentine companies – had placed 32 bids with the government for six projects. According to a report by Reuters, those involved include Argentina’s own engineering firm Techint Group, which partnered with Spanish company Acciona Concesiones. Others came from the United States, Colombia, Italy and Portugal.
Reports of the amount of investment needed to guarantee the project differed. Some reports put the figure at US$8 billion, with total cost reaching US$12.5 billion (the State will make up the difference between the two figures). Some US$6 billion will be put forward by firms over the next five years.
President Mauricio Macri has made upgrading Argentina’s crumbling infrastructure one of government’s main aims. The road projects are the first of a wave of PPP investment plans worth US$26.5 billion pencilled in until 2022. Under such schemes, companies finance the projects while agreeing a longer- term deal with governments to recoup the investment.
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