The Government canceled the bidding for the concession of the Waterway and ordered an investigation into the company Dredging Environmental and Marine Engineering (DEME), the only one that had submitted a bid, for allegedly making "pressures" on the other interested companies. This was announced by presidential spokesperson Manuel Adorni at the Casa Rosada.
Adorni lamented that "during the process, sectors of politics, media, and business made lobby for their own interests and demanded that the Government lower the technical standards of the specifications solely for their own benefit." But he specifically pointed out DEME, noting that it is "striking" that the company that "was concerned about halting the process with accusations of a supposed lack of transparency that was not such," ultimately "withdrew a few days before being the only ones to submit a bid in the auction."
Hours earlier, it had been revealed that unusually, there had been a single offer for the exploitation of the Paraná-Paraguay Waterway and that this company was the one that had reported from the beginning that the specifications were directed so that the also Belgian Jan de Nul, the previous licensee of that navigable waterway, would win, which ultimately did not even participate.
The executive director of the National Agency of Ports and Navigation, Iñaki Arreseygor, mentioned that the agency would "immediately start working on the new specifications."
Adorni stated: "We were accused of being too demanding, of incompatible businesses, of corruption, among other false accusations that we are regularly made in different matters." He then detailed that the National State decided to involve the National Commission for the Defense of Competition to investigate possible irregularities in the bidding process.
The concession process for the Main Navigable Waterway is of great importance for the development of foreign trade and logistics in the region, as this infrastructure is vital for the circulation of goods between the interior of the country and international seaports.
The Paraná-Paraguay Waterway is one of the most important water reserves in the world and the river route through which 80% of Argentina's goods exports are transported. Dredging, redredging, and maintenance work are essential to ensure navigability and safety in the operation of large-draft vessels.
