The popular phrase goes that “second parts are never good,” but the government is looking for an exception to that rule. Bidding for Waterway concessionPerhaps more important than management Javier MileyThe executive authority confronted the Belgian company DEME after suspending the document last February amid conflicting complaints. After nine months, It seems that the story has changed and the competition is about to be relaunched.
“The Company positively appreciates the ongoing bidding process for the acquisition of Hidrovía, and highlights the efforts made by Consensus and transparencyHe stated that Demi In a statement. These words contradict judicial writings submitted by this company during the first bidding attempt. at that time, They were talking about the alleged targeting For another company, Jan de Nul.
The government has always denied this accusation, but was unable to prevent the matter from escalating in the first days of February. Attorney General’s Office Administrative Investigations (PIA) He issued an opinion in which he stated that he was there “Sufficient elements to detect serious violations in the drafting of procedures manuals.
The competition for the waterway concession is not just another competition. This is the largest tender under Miley’s management. According to the government’s first data, the winner would have stayed for 30 years at a company, according to official calculations. It can cost up to US$410 million annually to collect tolls from ships carrying and transporting cargo through the navigable waterway. In exchange for undertaking dredging and signaling work.
Therefore, with a previous court offer, the only offer made in February was the DEME offer. The person identified as the suspect in the alleged targeting, Jan De Nul, did not submit his proposal for the contest, which was also a novelty in those days. But there is still more to come: the government has decided to suspend that tender.
DEME went from accused to accused. “The intervention of the National Commission for the Defense of Competition will be directed to investigate The possibility of the sole bidder putting pressure on the remaining companies or collusion between them at the expense of the national state“, referred to the portfolio led by Luis Caputo in an official statement.
LA NACION consulted official sources about the beginning and progress of the aforementioned government accusation against the Belgian company, but as of the time of publishing this article they have not issued any response.
The old tension appears to have been left behind and now DEME has assessed the new bidding process the government faced for the waterway concession. “These operations provide clarity and predictability for future infrastructure investments,” he said in his latest statement.
The story turned out to be different after the failed attempt last February. The government encouraged multi-sectoral meetings in which various parties interested in operating and dredging the waterway issued opinions and recommendations on what the new specifications should be.
“The work is being done quickly and well,” sources from the sector told LA NACION. Even in the middle of the year, after one of the multi-sectoral meetings, Chairman Chamber of the Argentine Petroleum Industry (CIARA)And Director of the Board of Directors Cereal Exporters Center (CEC),Gustavo EdagorasHe considered that “it should be granted in May.” In parallel, the Executive Director of… Rosario Stock Exchange, Javier ServioHe had indicated that these dates “seem logical.”
Specifically, CIARA and CEC are two players interested in dredging the waterway, since it is commonly called a “highway” for agricultural exports. About 80% of the sector’s international trade passes through it. The deeper waterway will allow ships with heavier loads to travel with less risk of running aground.
For this reason (more depth, more trade), one of the proposals emerging from the multi-sectoral meetings states that in Four years The winner must complete the dredging work with the goal of fetching The depth of the waterway is 40 feet. Currently it is between 32 and 34 feetdepending on the region.
Sources from the sector confirmed that the final report is being prepared as a result of all multi-sectoral meetings. The next step will be to turn this into a publishable document so the certificate can be released again. So, after the first suspension, the Hydrovia team started to finish off their second chance.
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