This story can be told in different ways. One of the most deficit and difficult to privatize sectors appears among the public investment priorities for 2026. Or one could say that this is the case after the decree of Railway emergency After the Palermo train accident in 2024, management announced Javier Milei I decided that Roads will figure prominently in next year’s spending.
The introduction of the report is known as National Public Investment Plan 2026 suggests that the in the The proposed 2026 budget for the entire item totals $3.7 billion. According to official information, it would be 48.2% more than estimated for 2025. This would represent an increase above the government’s inflation forecast of 10.1% for next year, or even above the central bank’s inflation forecast (19.6%).
The document created by the Chief of Staffreflects that the railway sector will be one of the most benefiting sectors. If you add the budgeted funds for ADIF, Sofsa and the Roca railway, you get a number $573,370 million.
This means that among the nine projects most highlighted by the Chief of Staff, the sum of projects comes first. This is followed by investments that are part of the National Defense Fund and energy work. The difference between these last two works and those proposed in the railway sector is Visibility. Investing in Caza multirol aircraft ($230,996 million) or in the Atucha I nuclear power plant ($400,000 million) is not the same as investing in railway tracks. where millions of people circulate every month.
“In this line in 2026 Priority will be given to railway modernization projects that improve competitiveness and passenger safetyincluding the renewal of infrastructure and rolling stock; “Investments in strategic inputs such as energy production, particularly those aimed at the development of hydropower and nuclear energy, and those investments aimed at ensuring the supply of essential public goods, such as strengthening operational and logistical capabilities in defense and security matters,” the official document said.
So, The trains will absorb much of the public investment the government plans for 2026. That is, libertarian management would allocate funds to one of the most loss-making sectors, which in turn creates the greatest complications for its privatization efforts.
This is shown by a report from the Ministry of Economic Affairs railway operator, The public company responsible for operating the trains has the second worst financial result in the first half of the year: a Loss of almost $40,000 million. The National Budget Office document details: “Year-on-year, there is a deterioration in financial performance, mainly due to the increase in overall expenditure.”
The company’s ongoing income practically depends on ticket sales. Until the second half of the year It raised $38,601.3 million but had to spend $556,067.6 million to get its trains operational.
The other side of these numbers is this Need for investment in railway infrastructure. Between 2024 and 2025, at least two accidents exposed the system’s deficiencies. The first occurred in May last year, when two trains on the San Martín line collided in Palermo, and the second, less than a month ago, was due to a derailment on the Sarmiento.
The projection of public investment
The National Public Investment Plan 2026 can be viewed from different perspectives. One is the one mentioned before, that of the presented projects. But it can also be analyzed after the type of initiative to which the funds are allocated.
In this sense it is National Defense Fund It ranks first with an amount of $624,119 million. Then there are those road projects, with an allocated amount of $466,146 million, and third place is shared by transfers Nuclear for jobs in Atucha I and in parallel, the allocations for the Santa Cruz dams, both amounting to $400,000 million.
In addition, the document prepared by the government reflects the distribution of expected public administration expenditure by sector. In 2026, “energy, fuels and mining” would be concentrated at 23.8%; “Transportation” (excluding roads) 17.4% and “Defense” 16.3%. This is in contrast to the design of these types of games in 2025.
This year’s public investment plan had to “Energy, Fuel and Mining” in first place, although with a smaller share (18.1%). Roads came second with 14.9% and transport with 12.2%. These changes reflect what spending the government wants to prioritize.
In addition to the decision on how to use the money, the geographical distribution is also relevant: in which provinces, according to the plan, the most investment should be made. In this case, the Pampean area would be 67.3% concentrated; These include the provinces of Buenos Aires, Córdoba, Entre Ríos, La Pampa, Santa Fe and the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires.
The Patagoniaconsisting of Chubut, Neuquén, Río Negro, Santa Cruz and Tierra del Fuego, Antarctica and the South Atlantic Islands, holds 18.6% of these items. That means, The projects located there and in the Pampas region will absorb $8.5 of every $10 invested by the national executive.
Key investment initiatives
The “Train” area includes three of the nine projects presented. transfers Railway Infrastructure Administration SA (ADIF) will amount to $320,982 million. This includes, among other things, work on the Miter line, its connection to the San Martín railway and the Retiro station.
According to the official report, $203,862 million is to be “transferred.” Railway Operator Society SA (Sofsa)responsible for the provision of rail transport services. “The most significant investments include track renewal work at decentralized branches, equipping workshops for the maintenance of rolling stock and adaptation and repair work on works of art,” the document says.
For him Rock railwayThere is a separate paragraph for the one that carries the most passengers. “This initiative aims to renew and electrify rail passenger transport in two key sections: the Plaza Constitución – La Plata branch and the 13.5 kilometers of the Vía Circuito, which covers the route between Villa España and Bosques stations of the Plaza Constitución – Bosques (Vía Quilmes) branch,” the report says. The 2026 draft budget includes an allocation of $48,526 million for this initiative, “financed almost entirely by a loan from the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB).”
Then the mentioned projects are listed as payments corresponding to the acquisition of the Multi-role fighter aircraft and the work to extend the life of the nuclear power plant Atucha I
In the category of road projects, the government has included: Presidente Juan Domingo Perón Highway in Buenos Aires Provincewith an allocation of $25,373 million. A 2024 note from LA NACION reported on the state of abandonment of this structure, “which has been curtailed, abandoned and usurped, despite being planned since the 80s as the third ring road of Buenos Aires after the General Paz and the Camino de Cintura,” as Diego Cabot described.
The other notable road projects are in Santa Fe, with the construction of National Route Highway No. 34, and between San Juan and Mendoza, where work is planned Highway National Route No. 40.
The investment in Safety equipment It has also earned a place among the most important initiatives. The official report states that “an allocation of $110,688 million from internal financing is expected” in this area. This includes restoring and expanding the helicopter fleet as well as purchasing cybersecurity software, vehicles and weapons.
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