The government of Javier Milei has initiated the process of privatization of the state-owned railway company Trenes Argentinos Cargas, also known as Belgrano Cargas and Logistics, according to official sources reported this Wednesday. This will be the first privatization of a railway company since Milei took office on December 10.
Trenes Argentinos de Cargas, which operates three railway lines covering a total of 7,600 kilometers of tracks, will be granted to the private sector. The person in charge of the privatization, Diego Chaher, detailed that seven differentiated concession processes will be carried out for each of the three lines, including associated employees.
According to presidential spokesman Manuel Adorni, this privatization is aimed at increasing productivity, transparency, and efficiency of Belgrano Cargas. The government argues that the state-owned company has required considerable investment from the state in recent years, while the amount of cargo transported and the infrastructure have not developed adequately.
Milei's government has expressed its firm intention to privatize all state enterprises wherever possible and transfer to the private sector anything that can be managed by it. According to Chaher, the goal is to open all state-owned companies to private capital.
Under the new scheme, it is expected that the infrastructure concession will be open access, meaning that the concessionaire will be required to allow all interested operators to transport cargo on that track, in order to avoid monopolistic practices.
The Belgrano Cargas company, in state hands, has been identified as deficit-ridden, with an oversized workforce and an organizational structure that does not fit its functions, according to a statement from the Office of President Milei.
