The Argentine government privatized the administration of eight major sections of national routes — 3,900 kilometers of roads spanning 11 provinces — on Monday.
The eight companies awarded the contracts will be in charge of operating and maintaining the routes for 20 years.
The move comes as the state budget for operating and maintaining national routes has dropped by almost 80% since President Javier Milei took office in 2023, according to a report from the Civil Association for Equality and Justice (ACIJ, by its Spanish initials).
The budget allocated this year to national routes — AR$563 billion or US$371 million at the official exchange rate — is the lowest in more than three decades, ACIJ told outlet La Nación.
The report also highlighted that six out of every 10 kilometers of those roads are in poor or fair condition.
