As Nestor Otero watches his massive business as the railway station’s concessionaire collapse, the government moves forward with another blow to the “retired Tsar.” The Ministry of Economy previously noted: Private initiative process to hand over Retiro Bus Station to a new business group.
Officially, what happened is that A.J The project is presented by a business group led by Inverlat Investment, the company that owns Havanna Headed by Carlos Giovanelli, Damian Pozzoli, Guillermo Stanley and Federico Salvai, among others.
Alongside this company, which has just joined a group of companies with the Alicura hydroelectric power station, there are Service Trade – from the Narváez real estate group, specializing in auctions – Inversiones Peirod – from businessmen Javier Peire and Matías Rodríguez – and BV Investment, a company just over a year old and made up of partners of the Carballo law firm.
Investment group Leading this project is Pierre Which, in addition to being part of Inversiones Peirod, is part of the new business division of Narváez. These are businessmen They are the only ones with experience in running the station, having once exploited the station in Tucumán.
However, apart from the government’s clear decision to accelerate a new concession, controversy settled in the Ministry of Economy. More than a year ago, exactly on June 18, 2024, file EX2024-63935493, Which included a special initiative entitled “Redesign, Conversion, Enhancement, Operation and Commercial Exploitation of the Retiro Passenger Bus Transportation Center and Its Ancillary Uses.” Only on November 5, the proposal was registered in the National Register of Private Initiatives.
The question for others interested in exploitation is why he The government has chosen the path of private initiative, a mechanism that gives an enormous advantage to those who offer it. This type of layout is usually used for projects that require artwork and, above all, originality in relation to what is present.
In that case, there is nothing new except renovating the existing property and building some other shiny facilities, such as the so-called “snake”, a semicircular structure surrounding the existing property and housing spaces such as gardens and parking areas. All the projects that once surrounded Retiro are on the same path: strengthening the station, building a hotel and improving services. Hence a special initiative, which gives you an advantage in the bidding (you have a 10% advantage over other offers and the possibility of matching the winning bid, provided that it does not exceed 15%). It makes it virtually impossible for the rest to compete. There is controversy.
A source in the consortium said: “What is happening is that this is not a concession project, but rather a re-evaluation and redesign of an urban space.” Nation He asked about the point of contention.
The road ahead for the file is still long. Once you have registered – and indeed it is – and completed the process at the Ministry of Economy, The executive must declare that the process is in the public interest In the same act, it is permissible to authorize the design, implementation of the tender, and invitation to competition. As stated, at this point, the bidder will compete with an advantage (10% on price and ability to break even for best offer).
The proposal of this business group, whose fictional name is Terminales del Milenio, says that it “proposes a functional and programmatic reconfiguration that includes new activities and services aimed at improving operational performance,” Significantly improve the user experience and enhance the urban inclusion of the complexIt seeks to reposition the Retiro Bus Transit Terminal (ETOR) as a key node within the urban and national transport system.
Group A suggests Investments worth $79 million In order to improve in addition to the construction of a hotel, a conference center, two office buildings, an important space for the logistics area (especially for the growing parcel business) and the re-adaptation of commercial and co-working spaces.
The term they give for The duration of work implementation is 60 monthsIn 6 annual periods, each lasting 9 working months and 3 stopping periods due to peak demand. Although the fees to be paid will be determined in the tender, they have set a minimum of P100 million per month, with a concession period of 30 years..
The government also cannot take a private initiative, in this case, it calls a traditional tender and asks everyone to submit their own project. Another point that is still expected is knowing the obstacles that may arise from the tender. For example, whether the companies that own bus transportation companies can submit their bid or not.
Currently, the condition of the station is little less than deserted, especially the surrounding area. In reality, For some time, the YPF service station was closed. The irony is that the oil company still retains and pays the rental fees From the place.
Otero, The “retired czar” receives rent every month for a closed space With metal panels. It happens that the majority state-owned oil company does not want to be open, because the service station does not meet the minimum standards of the company’s other outlets. But since he doesn’t want to lose the space to a competitor, he prefers to pay rent to Otero and wait until the matter is resolved.
It all started last year, in June, when the wallet was introduced. In the first steps, there was a strong observation about the content. In the first steps he was there 6 points noted regarding technical and economic feasibility. Among other things, the offer did not include details of the business nor the services provided in the operation nor the partners. There was no social or environmental assessment, and no technical feasibility.
The notes continued. The most important of which is that the amount that will be paid as a fee was not announced, the sources of income or financing were not detailed, and the expected cash flow was not recorded, among dozens of uncertainties. Finally, this year there were more details.
According to the summary of that draft, The property will now be 89,112 square metres Of these, 17,931 will be allocated to commercial buildings; 8213 for offices; 13,365 will be used for co-working rooms and VIP spaces; 28,919 for parcels, which will also include 50 berths for freight operations, in addition to 80 for buses. Finally, the hotel will have an area of 8,543 square metres, the conference center, 1,878 square metres, and The capacity of the parking lots, which will be covered, will reach 400 vehicles.
One of Argentina’s most pressing administrative disgraces lies in the station. There, for nearly 10 years, The Retired Tsar has built a living legend: He can tell his grandchildren that he didn’t understand it Carlos Menem, Nestor Kirchner, Cristina, Mauricio Macri, and Alberto Fernandez. The final chapter of the defense is not yet known, but at least he will be able to boast that he also took over at least two years of the president’s administration. Javier Miley.