They will invest US $ 900 million to streamline road works under the PPP program.

Through a syndicated loan led by IDB Invest, the trust created by the government will receive the funds needed to reactivate the plan.

When it seemed that

public works

This would be the biggest hit this year, given the adjustment of Treasury spending, the aid of a multilateral bank will channel, from June, nearly $ 900 million in infrastructure. IDB Invest, the private branch of the Inter-American Development Bank, will lead a loan with international banks to accelerate the six public works contracts awarded under the public-private participation (PPP) system.

On the 30th of this month, the IDB has a date to discuss the "bridge loan for PPP program, road network and secure routes," according to its website. The project leader is Argentinian Gian Franco Carbadale, who has been working in the organization for more than 15 years.

The multilateral bank would contribute USD 200 million, with the rest consisting of international banks such as JP Morgan, Goldman Sachs, HSBC, Deutsche Bank, Citibank and UBS, as well as multilateral organizations such as the International Finance Corporation (IFC, the arm of the bank). World for Private Sector), Latin American Development Bank (CAF) and China Development Bank (CBD) -.

Yesterday, the

Ministry of transportation

He summoned the representatives of the five consortia charged with carrying out the work to inform them that the trust would dispose of the funds by the middle of next month. For that, some modifications will have to be made to the contracts, because the first year of works had to be financed in pesos with the local bank. Over the next three years of construction, the consortia will be able to sell and sell the Investment Payment Securities (IPTs), which the Treasury provides according to the progress of the work.

"The trust will be over," confirmed the minister yesterday.

Guillermo Dietrich

a
THE NATIONduring his brief visit to Córdoba, where he went to Ambrosio Taravella airport and participated in a luncheon at the local stock exchange.

The idea of ​​creating a fund serving as an intermediary vehicle to unlock short-term credits appeared last August, when corporate finance was compromised after the corruption scandal of the cause of the notebooks. "That was the perfect storm," Dietrich said, "Laptops and trading problems have generated uncertainty, but we have overcome it, the IDB has maintained its support for its executives integrity and the banks arouse a lot of interest. "

The multilateral body has validated the integrity framework with which the banks that will lend the funding to contractors will be governed, a necessary requirement to cover the "reputational risk" for possible cases of corruption.

"They did not think we would be encouraged to create such a demanding framework of integrity," he said. "The employer is obliged to transfer his shares within 30 days if he has a final judgment, firm lawsuits or repentance. business, so that it can continue to function while cleaning up the composition of its shareholders, "they explained to the government.

This was the kickoff for IDB Invest to invest in a syndicated loan. The bank has a portfolio of badets under management of 11,200 million US dollars and has 330 clients in 23 countries.

For the government, the reactivation of the PPP works took place at the best time, since they will invest about 35 billion dollars in public works at the very moment when what was intended for this purpose has actually dropped by 50% by compared to 2018, due to needs. reduce public spending and achieve the goal of fiscal balance. The credit, which will be allocated proportionately among the six road corridors at market rates in US dollars, will provide mobility for a sector essential to the government's image in an election year.

The PPP contracts were signed on August 1, the same day the cause of the notebooks was unveiled. This first phase of projects included the competition of six road corridors – A, B, C, E, F and Sur – which cover more than 3,300 kilometers of national roads in Buenos Aires, Córdoba, La Pampa, Mendoza and Santa Fe.

The plan for these corridors includes the construction of new motorways (813 km), safe roads (1494 km) and special works (252 km), as well as 17 variants in different locations.

The total investment estimated for the first stage is greater than 8 billion US dollars, according to the Ministry of Transport. In total, US $ 6,000 million will be invested in the first four years and more than US $ 2,000 million in the following years.

The bidding process of this stage had 32 bids from 10 consortia, consisting of 19 domestic companies and 7 international companies. They have won five consortiums, since the one formed by the companies Helport (a company of the Eurnekian group), Panedile, Eleprint and Spanish Copasa will be in charge of the E and F road corridors. Then there is the consortium that constitutes China Construction America (CCA ) and North American Green, which will provide 546 kilometers of National Highway 5 between Luján and Santa Rosa.

The South Road Corridor was responsible for the Ausur Consortium, consisting of Rovella, JCR and the Portuguese company Mota-Engil, and will extend over 247 km of the Riccheri, Jorge Newbery, Ezeiza-Cañuelas and National Roads 3 and 205

The corridor that connects Las Flores to Coronel Dorrego, as well as another branch linking Olavarría to Mar del Plata, has been awarded to Paolini Hermanos, Vial Agro and Italian INC.

The trustee

The trust will be administered by the Investment and Foreign Trade Bank (BICE), chaired by Francisco Cabrera. The former Minister of Production took over the team from the former PPP project secretariat, headed by José Luis Morea and currently director of BICE.

The bank, which previously focused on lending to SMEs, will be fully dedicated to financing and mobilizing infrastructure work. Although its capital is only 7,000 million dollars, it will seek to attract loans from multilateral organizations to transport them to renewable energy projects, regional economies and other necessary road works, for example in following sectors:

Dead cow

.

At the end of February, a new call for tenders was launched with the PPP system for the construction of a high voltage network between the transformation stations of Río Diamante (Mendoza) and Charlone (Buenos Aires). It is the return of this regime after its suspension at the end of last year, when the Argentine country risk has risen rapidly by nearly 150 basis points.

"What's changing with respect to motorway-related tender calls is that the funding to be demonstrated must be badociated with the business risk and not the risk of the project." The business risk means that the private debt to finance for the work is secured by the badets of the company. the company that participates in the bidding process and not the cash flow generated by the project, "explained Morea at the time.

"The company will evaluate internally whether or not it is able to obtain new debt, given its financial position, its solvency, its forecast of future income, its legal exposure, among others", he adds. It is impossible to bid for all jobs using private risks, as Argentine companies do not have enough leeway to manage as many projects. This is why it is necessary to come back later to the project's risk scheme, if you wish to bid for larger work.

For this year, new offers are expected under the PPP system, such as the train linking the city of Neuquén to Añelo, the nearest city to Vaca Muerta.