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Law 27,742 introduced amendments to the National Public Works Concession Law 17,520, expanding its scope and authorizing the granting of concessions for a variable period, among other issues. Firstly, in relation to the object and its duration, before the reform, article 1 established that: “The Executive Branch may grant public works concessions for a fixed term, to private or mixed companies or to public entities for the construction, maintenance or exploitation of public works through the collection of fees or tolls in accordance with the procedures established by this law.” Now the law determines: “The national Executive Power may grant concessions for public works and infrastructure and public services for a fixed or variable term to private or mixed companies or to public entities for the construction, maintenance or exploitation of public works or infrastructure and for the provision of public services through the collection of fees, tolls or other remunerations in accordance with the procedures established by this law.” On the other hand, it retains the possibility of granting concessions for the exploitation, administration, repair, expansion, or maintenance of existing works, with the purpose of obtaining funds for the construction or conservation of other works that have a physical, technical or other link with the first ones – provision added by Law 23.696 “State Reform”. This modality was linked to the evaluation of the economic-financial equation of each undertaking, which had to be structured in order to obtain an effective reduction in the rate or toll charged to the user, eliminating the highlighted part. Annex II approved by Decree 713/2024 regulated various articles, including that: in the case of a fixed-term concession, the estimated time required to amortize the capital invested by the concessionaire, among others, must be considered in determining the term of the contract. Thus, the granting of a variable-term concession will be in this way when it is not possible to establish with a sufficient degree of approximation the volume of traffic or users in the work, infrastructure, or service, which will be at the discretion of the technical bodies of the duly substantiated bidding entity (article 2 of Annex II). Within this framework, it is established that when the tender is for a variable term, the specifications must contain: the estimated probable duration of the contract. The aforementioned regulations clarify that concessions or licenses for public services regulated by special rules shall be subject to the provisions of their respective regulatory frameworks. Regarding the administrative procedure for selecting bidders, the new regulations stipulate that concessions will be awarded through national and international public tenders - eliminating the possibility of contracting directly with public entities or capital companies. The regulation also added: “The termination of the contract for reasons of public interest shall be governed solely by the provisions of this article and no rule establishing a limitation of liability shall be directly, supplementarily or analogously applicable, especially those contained in laws 21,499 and its amendments and 26,944 and in decree 1023/01 and its amendments.” That is, state liability will not be limited by the provisions established in the Laws of: expropriation, State Liability, and the Administration Contracting Regime, excluding for example what is indicated in the cited Decree 1023/2001 - “The revocation, modification or replacement of contracts for reasons of opportunity, merit or convenience, will not generate the right to compensation in the form of lost profits.” The private initiative procedure is also incorporated for the celebration of contracts for concessions of works, public infrastructures and public services in sectors considered to be of public interest, in which financing must be private. The system of projects presented by private initiative was regulated by Decree 966/2005 (which included not only contracts for concessions of works but also those established in the Public Works Law -13.064-) and by Law 27.328 -still in force- which regulates Public-Private Participation contracts. Currently, the procedure for any proposal submitted by an individual (Annex III) applicable to the various contracts framed within the contracting systems governed by Laws 13,064, 17,520, 23,696 and 27,328 has been regulated. The Regulations of the regime innovate with respect to the fact that the private initiative in Decree 966/2005 referred only to the presentation of an individual before the National State, while the current regulations incorporate the modality of presentation by call made by the competent authority in the matter, with respect to sectors or projects considered to be of public interest. The minimum requirements for the presentation of projects, the timely declaration of public interest of the project and the Public Tender procedure that will govern - in accordance with the provisions of the aforementioned laws - are also established. In relation to the preferences of the person who submitted the initiative, the percentage is increased from 5% to 10%, and the right to receive from the successful bidder, in the form of fees and reimbursable expenses, a percentage of 1% of the amount remains in force, which may be increased up to 3% according to the new regulations. Previously, the National State was not obliged to reimburse expenses or fees to the project author due to his status as such. Now it is established that - in the event that the initiative is declared to be of public interest - but the call for tenders is not made within a period of up to twelve months, the State must reimburse the initiator the amount presented as capital expenses. Finally, the regulations of articles 66 to 72, 74 and 75 stipulate that: “Administrative acts not consented to may be challenged by the concessionaire in accordance with the provisions of the Regulations of the National Law of Administrative Procedures approved by Decree No. 1759/72 (TO 2017). A previous act may be challenged by challenging a subsequent act provided that they share the relevant elements for the challenge and the effects of the previous act do not require its immediate questioning. This procedural rule is applicable until the termination of the contract, in accordance with the provisions of section e) of article 23 of Law No. 19,549.” We refer again in this matter to the theory of colluded acts - clearly incorporated in the cited article - which adds a new form of challenge to that already established in the reform of the Law of Administrative Procedure, which would also apply to public works concession contracts and the scope of their object dealt with. 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