| Work Detail |
There was a lot of talk about the public works of the neighboring country. Grupo Apolo spoke with leaders from different sectors who experience this construction model. Enter the note and draw your own conclusions regarding what is coming for Argentina in the Milei cycle. Since the 1990s, public works concessions have been the main method of executing public infrastructure in Chile. Major public works have been executed through this type of administrative contracting. Chilean journalist Mario Gutiérrez, independent communications advisor and host of the multiplatform program Manos Libres explained that this system comes from the Concessions Law 20,410 that was born in 1993 during the government of President Patricio Aylwin, in the first years of the return to democracy. . Through public works concession contracts, the neighboring country has built tunnels, urban and interurban highways, airports, reservoirs, penitentiary compliance centers, hospitals, buildings for the operation of public institutions and other infrastructure works of similar magnitude and importance. State – Private, consensual matters In Chiles concessions model, the State is not completely absent from the process but is the guarantor of the tenders, arbitrates conflicts and indicates investment priorities in a centralized manner, through its Ministry of Public Works. With the concession model, the figure of public-private associations was consolidated where the contract is for the execution of public infrastructure, which is characterized by the contractors payment method called exploitation right. Engineer Francisco Javier Méndez, CEO of Kronox, a special steel company for industry and mining, explained that “the State sets the rules of the game in the bidding process, and once awarded, it determines in the contract, with the chosen company , the rules that will govern during its duration. For this, a State and country with legal and institutional stability that provides guarantees in the medium and long term to bidders is relevant.” The objective is for private capital to finance the deficit infrastructure, which, as it is considered economically profitable, would allow it to recover its investment through the direct collection of a fee from users. That is, the use of public works, built by private capital, is charged to users. Gutiérrez explained to Grupo Apolo that the private sector is expected to carry out those works that it can execute more efficiently than the State. “For example, in the health and electricity sectors, companies that were previously state-owned were privatized and operate in a monopolistic manner, but with regulated prices. In the infrastructure sector, which includes highways, airports, etc., the system is mixed and what is done is to transfer the construction and operation of a work to the private sector and after a few years of concession, it will be transferred to the State.” However, Gutiérrez commented that although the works are of first level, in many of them they continue to charge tolls or tags from users. For his part, Engineer Francisco Javier Méndez, CEO of Kronox, explained that “this dual model, which includes state public works financed directly by the State, and another line that is a concessions model, where private companies participate in tenders to finance, execute and exploit public works for a defined period of years, has been successful over the last 30 years in Chile, and has been perfected over time.” However, the independent communicator Mario Gutiérrez expressed that although the State can supervise the execution of the works, it can be noted that there is some flexibility in the face of expired deadlines or deficiencies in the operation of the works. “After 30 years of being in effect, the system has been generating a certain porosity in the public-private relationship, as well as some degrees of collusion between the State and the private sector.” Benefits and contradictions of “Chilean” public works Apolo Group dialogue with Augusto Scarella, journalist, graduate in political science and consulting partner at Sciat Facere referred to the experience of living in a country with the public works that the elected president Javier Milei wants to adopt. The specialist in strategic prospective analysis told LV16.com that the first thing that was seen was that private investors, in their Italian beginnings, focused on Chilean routes, especially in Santiago de Chile where there was great congestion and the streets were not been designed for so many people and cars. “Here we had to find a solution and it was for the private sector to invest. The private companies built internal highways in Santiago, a marvel. Then they invested in prison concessions, with the State being responsible for security, and the rest of the system and construction depends on the private sector.” When private investors invest millions, they request a concession from the State to manage public works, for example a highway for which the user is charged per kilometer for a certain number of years. “This started many years ago, we are in 2023 and today they want to destroy the highway concessionaires because the money that the concessions get you is brutal.” He added that “the average Chilean, really, everyone, I dont hear them say that they are paying for a good service.” Because once again the roads collapsed due to the flow of vehicles and a person who travels on a concessioned highway about 30 km a day from home to work can pay one thousand to two thousand dollars a month added to the driving license per year, where they charge you for your car, according to a tax rate. “The circulation permit is volatile, no one knows what it is for. The municipalities, the corporations, the State keep it, we have no idea.” Here we have seen some very good engineering infrastructure works, but with very high costs and in recent times they have begun to fail. “When the president-elect, Javier Milei, tells Argentines about the Chilean public works model, I would say be careful because, although it brings you a lot of benefits, if it is not well regulated this ends up being detrimental to the normal citizen” . According to what Augusto Scarella expressed, when these contracts were signed, an annual readjustment was agreed upon, so today, they pay 10 times what they paid when this system began. When it started it was all wonderful because it was a very low value and you took up all the infrastructure, but the costs continue to rise and these concessions are for many years. The journalist commented that today in Chile there are groups that no longer want Tag, truckers, taxi drivers, those who travel to their office every day, work to pay for the Tag. Augusto Scarella stated that care must be taken when authorizing private companies because they seek their own benefit and it is important to determine to what extent it can be increased, because currently in Chile the government has had to present to the concessionaires this problem that generates social discontent and for which there have already been several protests that even generated large congestion on the highways. “The role of the State cannot be left to the free will of the private sector because what happens in the end is that it ends up becoming a business and the citizen collapses, because they cannot make ends meet.” The political analyst stated that the Ministry of Public Works in Chile is in charge of carrying out coordination and investment in public works, especially outside the metropolitan region, and it is in charge of those works that private companies do not carry out, such as roads. rural or in the health system. The projects are limited according to the Nations budget. What has to do with drinking water, sewage, is referred to the Municipalities that make up systems that are called corporations that carry out these works. However, in recent times many cases have come to light in which this money is not used for its intended purpose. Augusto Scarella, journalist, political analyst and consultant, stated that in the face of these problems, “a subsidiary government would be necessary, in which it would be feasible to carry out projects together with private companies, but there should be a specific clause stating that no It can affect a certain percentage of money in a family basket. The Sciat Facere consultant commented that there is strong social pressure in relation to tags and concessions so that they disappear or are reduced and on the other hand, companies are realizing that the evasion of the tag is costing millions. |
