Asphalt for the Rahue slope, closer to becoming a reality

By the Government of the Province of Neuquén

This afternoon, Governor Rolando Figueroa headed the opening of the envelopes containing the proposals from the 11 companies that submitted their bids to pave a 22-kilometer stretch of Provincial Route 46. He highlighted that the works planned at the start of his administration represent “223 kilometers, which is 20% of the pavement that the province of Neuquén has built in the entire history of provincial routes.”

Developing all the asphalt on this route, together with the completion of the work being carried out on Provincial Route 23 from Aluminé to Junín de los Andes and the paving of Provincial Route 60 towards Mamuil Malal recently put out to tender, will allow strengthening and expanding a circuit with the main tourist towns of the province interconnected by fully paved scenic routes.

In his speech, Figueroa pointed out that the government made the decision to “build the provincial infrastructure that was necessary” and highlighted the importance of the governance pact and the work of all the mayors of the province who “immediately understood where we were going to invest public funds.” “Order implies making things clear and fighting injustices. It is bearing fruit and from now on we will permanently experience the possibility of developing Neuquén’s infrastructure,” he added.

"Being able to carry out this tender with the number of offers we have had today also marks a direction: being open, being able to work in a different way and not having a few privileged people who always end up getting the works," said the governor.

He indicated that his government works with “people who understand that Neuquén is above all things” and considered that “this is the direction we have to follow in the construction of this new province.” “We are doing all this because we Neuquén residents have agreed that the important thing is to work for the province,” he said.

"We, the people of Neuquén, defend ourselves from any action that could cause harm to Neuquén. And we also defend ourselves from those who want to put obstacles in the way and cannot even build one," he said.

The president stressed that “Neuquén is built by doing, with people who work, dedicate themselves, strive, focus and work honestly.” “Honesty is so important to restore credibility to citizens, who have often disbelieved in the possibility of working in the way that they are now clamoring for us to do,” he stressed.

He explained that there are “223 kilometers of road for which we already have the financing and we are ready to start with the tender or the execution of the work.” “It is no more and no less than 20% of the pavement that the province of Neuquén has built in the entire history of provincial roads,” he added.

“It is very important for us to develop tourism, but also for our people to be able to access their homes by travelling on pavement,” he said, adding: “It is not easy to start a project and not do everything at once, because if not, others would have already done it and the truth is that they did nothing.”

Finally, he commented that “we will be able to access Villa Pehuenia from the south, we will be able to access it through several paved international crossings, and we will also be able to access it from the north, from the Pino Hachado international crossing. We already have a network to be able to access Villa Pehuenia through different places.”

For her part, the president of the Provincial Unit for Liaison and Execution of Projects with External Financing (Upefe), Tanya Bertoldi, said that the government's priority is "the development of tourism and these very strategic works."

“We have a table full of offers,” he said, adding that “it is the first time in the history of the province that we have had so many offers for a public tender.” “It is a source of pride,” he said.

The mayor of Aluminé, Diego Victoria, considered that “it is a day of many emotions and pride” and highlighted the “political decision to prioritize one of the emblematic routes that we have in the Aluminé department.” He said that “the Rahue is emblematic and is a sign of a lot of effort from our people.” “This is one more example that we are looking inward,” he said.

The mayor of Las Coloradas, Lucrecio Varela, explained that the work “will add comfort and communication” and added that “the decision to add kilometers of asphalt is very welcome. We applaud it and celebrate it as a town.”

The mayor of Villa Pehuenia, Arturo De Gregorio, said that “this is done as a team” and assured that “in these 11 months we have noticed the change in the province, especially in the interior.” He highlighted the support of the governor and considered that the execution of the paving on Route 46 “will give us a tremendous change.” “Tourism will grow much more,” he concluded.

The event was also attended by the Chief of Cabinet, Juan Luis Ousset, the Minister of Government, Jorge Tobares, the Minister of Tourism, Gustavo Fernández Capiet and the Minister of Infrastructure, Rubén Etcheverry; the delegate of the Pehuén Region, Mario Bruce; the provincial deputies Gabriel Álamo, Héctor Novoa and Matías Martínez; the president of the provincial Highway Department, José Dustch and the coordinator of the Pewence Zonal Council, lonco Daniel Salazar.

THE WORKS

The work put out to tender today covers 22 kilometers on the section between Coloco Creek and the junction of Provincial Route 24 in Aluminé and includes the Rahue slope. It is financed by CAF Development Bank of Latin America, within the Territorial Balance and Development program of the province, in the subcomponent strengthening of provincial road connectivity. The budget is 24,912,928,015.24 pesos and will require two years of execution.

It will allow safe and permanent access throughout the year to the tourist centers of the Pehuén route. Provincial Route 46 is essential and strategic in territorial and tourist connectivity, linking the towns of Aluminé and Villa Pehuenia with Provincial Route 23, the southern corridors and the international border crossings of Mamuil Malal and Icalma. The Rahue slope, which will be paved, is a strategic and panoramic point from where the Lanín and Villarrica volcanoes can be seen.

The RP 46 bidding companies were Rovella Carranza, CN Sapag, POSE, Dos Arroyos, UTE BWT / RIVA, Perfil SRL, Rovial SA, UTE Autovia / ARCO, Chediack, Vial agro and CPC SA.