Milei targets companies in charge of water, rail and port infra tenders

A sweeping deregulation decree issued by Argentine President Javier Milei is preparing the ground for privatizations of infrastructure companies, some of which are overseeing project tenders.

The emergency decree targets several sectors and establishes that companies with state participation will become joint stock companies, with Milei announcing that the following step will be privatization.

Argentina has 33 state companies in sectors such as water services, ports, railways, air travel, manufacturing, energy and communications.

At least three – Buenos Aires water utility Aysa, national port administrator AGP, and rail company Trenes Argentinos – also carry out tenders.

By November, Aysa was executing 307 projects and tenders were underway for 48; 42 contracts were awarded and works about to start, while 58 were in the pre-tender stage. Some projects also have multilateral financing from the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), Latin American development bank CAF and development fund Fonplata.

Aysa was privatized in 1993 by the Carlos Menem government, when it was operating as Obras Sanitarias de la Nación. The firm was re-nationalized in 2006 during the Néstor Kirchner administration and given its current name. In response, concessionaire Suez immediately filed for international arbitration and won a 220mn-euro (US$242mn) compensation in 2019.

Trenes Argentinos comprises freight division BCYL, passenger unit SOFSE and infrastructure area ADIFSE, which also launches tenders.

An ADIFSE tender backed by a US$347mn World Bank loan approved in 2021 to modernize Buenos Aires’ Mitre passenger line is underway. Works include modernizing a 10.9km section and adding three stations. Prequalification was launched by the World Bank on December 12 and statements of interest will be received through January 19, according to the bank’s procurement website. 

AGP launches dredging tenders for Buenos Aires access canals and oversees the port concessions.

The previous government was planning to launch concession tenders for the four terminals of Buenos Aires’ main port but couldn’t advance before the new administration took over.

Milei’s decree is part of plans to slash public infrastructure investments and enable private participation, although his proposals have been criticized by the industry, including construction chamber Camarco.