|  ElCiudadano.cl |  Noticias

El Ciudadano

Original article: Milei pone el agua en venta: Argentina licita privatización por 30 años de la empresa estatal que abastece a Buenos Aires

The government led by far-right Javier Milei has confirmed the bidding process to privatize Agua y Saneamientos Argentinos S.A. (AySA), the state-owned company responsible for providing essential water services to over 14 million people in the Buenos Aires metropolitan area.

The Minister of Economy, Luis Caputo, announced via his X account that the bidding guidelines for selling 90% of the state-owned shares will be published in the Official Gazette this Friday. The concession will last 30 years, with the possibility of a ten-year extension, a move the so-called «libertarian» government justifies by promising increased investments and improved service quality.

However, past experiences tell a different story. During the prior privatization under the name Aguas Argentinas, the company halted coverage expansion and shifted the responsibility of funding necessary works to ensure access to potable water and sewer services — services it had originally committed to provide.

This experience culminated in a re-nationalization ordered in 2006 by then-President Néstor Kirchner, who accused the firm of “jeopardizing public health” due to high nitrate levels found in certain areas and failure to maintain infrastructure. Following this decision, the state initiated a phase of strong investment: potable water coverage increased from 76% to 85%, while access to sewage systems grew from 57% to 72.6%.

Aguas Andinas Among Interested Companies for AySA Acquisition

According to reports from Página/12, the Ministry of Economy informed that the government aims to secure the sale of at least 51% of the shares to a «strategic operator,» while the remaining shares will be publicly traded. Ten percent of shares will be set aside for employees. Among the companies interested in acquiring the majority of AySA are Argentine firms Edison Energía (associated with the Neuss family, alongside the owners of Havanna and Newsan), Mauricio Filibert (owner of Transclor), the Roggio Group, and Brazilian firms Sabesp and Rio+Saneamiento, as well as Chilean company Aguas Andinas.

“Interestingly, the latter are the firms that bought the French company Suez, which managed Aguas Argentinas from 1993 until its re-nationalization for contract violations,” the cited media outlet noted, recalling that Suez also sued the Argentine state before the CIADI.

Meanwhile, the Senate has already approved a motion led by Senator and former Interior Minister Eduardo Wado de Pedro to consider a bill declaring AySA «of public and strategic interest for human development,” in an effort to block the privatization.

Despite this opposition, Minister Caputo insists that “the incorporation of a strategic operator will enable new investment opportunities,” ignoring the recent history and repeating the narratives of the 1990s.

This decision comes amid the libertarian government’s need to obtain foreign currency to stabilize public accounts. It is estimated that the state hopes to raise about 500 million dollars through this transfer, while undermining the interests of the majority and maintaining privileges for the financial and primary sectors.

AySA is one of the eight companies that Milei plans to privatize under the Bases Law, alongside Vial Corridors, Enarsa, Intercargo, Belgrano Cargas, Trenes Argentinos, Nucleoeléctrica, and Yacimientos Carboníferos Río Turbio. The project includes a transition period until 2026 and a «New Era» beginning in 2027, when the first private rate cycle will commence.

La entrada Milei Moves to Privatize Water Supply: Argentina Auctions Off 30-Year Concession for State-Owned Company Serving Buenos Aires se publicó primero en El Ciudadano.