Bidders still pursuing Paraguay airport PPP

Two consortiums competing for the concession of Paraguay's Silvio Pettirossi airport have renewed the bid bonds for their respective offers for the US$149mn PPP contract, despite the fact that the bidding process has been stuck in the national supreme court since last year.

The head of the public works ministry's (MOPC) strategic projects unit, Claudia Centurión, told daily Última Hora that the bid bonds of consortiums Sacyr-Agunsa and Vinci Airports-Talavera & Ortellado had expired in June, but now both groups have renewed them until October 8.

Public works minister Arnoldo Wiens, who took office Tuesday, said that the cancelation of the bidding process is the most likely outcome, although the final decision will come from president-elect Mario Abdo, who during the campaign said that the process should be canceled, citing the recommendations of the comptroller.

Last year, the regulator recommended that the tender be canceled after stating that the MOPC had skipped the prequalification stage and had actively favored Sacyr's offer. In response, the ministry requested that the supreme court rule on the comptroller's alleged inability to rule on such an issue.