Argentine province passes bill to avoid seizures of public assets for construction debts

Argentina's Entre Ríos province will avoid having its assets seized by courts over its debts to public works contractors thanks to an amendment to the public works law passed by the provincial legislature on Wednesday. 

The amendment is now awaiting the ratification of governor Rogelio Frigerio.

Under the current regulations, disputes over unpaid work certificates could result in court rulings to seize funds from provincial agencies. 

However, the new legislation means that these disputes will be shifted to an administrative litigation process, according to a press release from the lower house of the Entre Ríos congress.

Hernán Jacob, coordinator at the local infrastructure ministry, told PlazaWeb in March that 5 billion pesos (US$5.2 million) had already been seized from provincial agencies due to unpaid construction certificates, with outstanding debts to public works contractors standing at around 20bn pesos.

Public works in Entre Ríos, like in many other provinces, came to a standstill after President Javier Milei halted federal funding for many infrastructure projects, exacerbating a situation where contractors were already facing delayed payments from government agencies.

Nationwide, debts to construction firms reached 400bn pesos in June, according to the Argentine construction chamber (Camarco).