| Work Detail |
"There is no money," said the president-elect regarding investments in infrastructure. The details of the works carried out and those pending.
"Theres no money". At the end of November, already dressed as president-elect, Javier Milei announced that all public works projects under execution in Argentina will be suspended or transferred to private hands. And the measure ratified by the leader of La Libertad Avanza will have a direct impact in Tucumán, where - according to businessmen - 80% of the investments are financed by the State.
A report prepared by the Ministry of Public Works and Services of the Province, to which LA GACETA had access, details the status of 98 files related to planned works for improvements in different areas, such as road infrastructure, water resources, prison establishments and energy strengthening. , among other.
The “situation map” received by the administration of Governor Osvaldo Jaldo states that, of that total of projects, 39 are “in execution”, with degrees of physical and financial progress ranging from 8% (such as the network of sewage collectors and the Simoca treatment plant) to more than 95% (for example, the Cevil Redondo Child Development Center and the restoration of the Timoteo Navarro Museum).
This is the group of works whose short-term future generates the greatest concern in the portfolio headed by Minister Santiago Yanotti, since the origin of its financing in most cases is the national Government, and if the shipment of federal resources, the continuity of the work seems unlikely.
An example of this is the Benjamín Paz prison, an emblematic project for Jaldismo, since the efforts before the Casa Rosada were carried out by the Tranqueño when he served as interim governor (Juan Manzur served as Chief of Staff of the Nation). The Ministry of Security of the Province is betting on this new prison complex to decompress the prison crisis that Tucumán is dragging on. With 48% progress and a completion date scheduled for April 2024, this file - which had an original award amount of more than $5.9 billion - could be put on hold in the event that the Milei Government makes the decision to eliminate public works or seek the intervention of private investors.
The same scenario occurs before other similar works in the prison and security field, such as the Delfín Gallo and Las Talitas wardens (with progress of 32% and 13%, respectively) and the facilities of the IV Command of the National Gendarmerie in Tucumán (with 12% of the work completed).
Completed
The report from the Ministry of Public Works of Tucumán also includes a total of 13 files that appear as “finished.”
All of these projects were materialized through federal resources, such as the Monteros, Banda del Río Salí and Burruyacu Child Development Centers; and the access bridge to Trancas from national route 9 (in the section between the intersection with provincial route 347 and the border with Salta).
More than half of the works reported as completed correspond to water works financed through the National Water and Sanitation Works Entity (Enohsa), with investments in interior departments such as Graneros, Burruyacu and Famaillá.
Although projects financed by the provincial treasury with a high degree of execution are detailed - such as the reconstruction of reinforced concrete sewers for provincial route 324, with 91% of the planned $101 million already applied -, all completed works were borne by of national agreements. Now, with the 2024 Budget under debate in the Legislature, the Government House will face the challenge of trying to complete these tasks, in a context in which high inflation is expected and with announcements of falls in the co-participable funds assigned to the 24 districts of the country.
In fact, 10 Justicialist governors - including Jaldo - already had a meeting with Guillermo Francos, who will take over as Mileis Minister of the Interior, to address the financial situation of each jurisdiction, and also the issue of public works. «We have to find a way to find agreements on that; "What are the works that are in progress, those that can continue, those that cannot be done at this time and can be done later," Francos told the press after the meeting with the leaders.
No progress
The horizon is even more complicated for files with contracts that have already been tendered or awarded, but register a low or no degree of progress.
For example, the resurfacing work of provincial route 307 (“Section II: El Infiernillo-Ampimpa”) depends on funds from the National Highway Directorate (DNV) for its completion. With an original budget of $5.28 billion and 15% disbursed, it will not be easy for it to be ready by May 10, 2024, as planned.
The scenario seems more gloomy for “Section III: Ampimpa-Amaicha del Valle” of that highway, since the work appears as “neutralized”, with almost 37% of the work carried out financed through the DNV.
The San Andrés natural gas supply projects and the expansion of the gas pipeline and networks in the towns of Choromoro and Benjamín Paz are also under that category (“neutralized”), although with 0% progress.
In addition, other administrative procedures are in an initial phase, such as the expansion of the Lules transformer station (in the process of being awarded) and the Aguilares sewage treatment plant (awarded and financed by the IDB), so they have not yet begun. to be executed in the territory, according to the report. Thus, it remains to be seen how the measures of the new national government also impact these works.
Sayings and expectations
“The public work is finished. We dont have money,” said Milei, already as president-elect, and his words raised alarm among the construction sector.
Beyond this position, the provincial government aims to give continuity to these investments, although the horizon is not the most encouraging.
“After (the new authorities) take office, we are going to settle in Buenos Aires to see the conditions and plans they have. We are working with other Milei collaborators. I need to know what your ideas are: if we are going to go to an ice rink, to use skates or if we are going to play soccer to wear cleats,” Minister Yanotti explained in a recent interview with LG Play.
Along these lines, he stressed that "Governor Jaldos instruction is that the work will continue" in the next period. «In fact, (the head of the EP) made an important rearrangement of the Budget to guarantee that works that are necessary can continue. They impact the workforce, the private sector, and the corralones. A large part of the jobs they generate and produce. We are going to wait for the President and his officials to take office and we are going to see what the conditions and plans they have and to what extent Tucumán can adapt. Regardless of what the national government may define, there is a clear decision to maintain the pace. "I was entrusted with ensuring that the departments are on the streets working," said the minister.
At the end of November, Jaldo himself had expressed his position on Mileis statements. «The Nation will have to analyze work by work, considering its importance and the services they provide. "You cannot ignore it," the governor had said after the president-elects announcement. |
