IDB to aid financing of Argentina's PPP program

The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) has approved the creation of a US$500mn investment guarantee facility to support private investment through public-private partnerships (PPP) in Argentina, in which the government plans to invest US$30bn over the next three and a half years.

This program involves the establishment of a Flexible Risk Mitigation Facility under which the IDB will issue partial risk guarantees and political risk guarantees to financiers and investors taking part in PPP projects in Argentina, the IDB said in a press release.

The bank's representative in the country, José Luis Lupo, said that this initiative "reflects our confidence in the country's efforts to achieve economic stability. The IDB guarantees will provide reassurances to investors and allow Argentina to leverage more private resources."

Argentina's PPP program includes projects in the water, infrastructure and energy sectors, with the first tenders launched for several sections of highway.

The program has attracted the interest of foreign investors, with 35 of them making statements of interest for a group of water projects worth US$9.5bn.

At the same time, the IDB signed a US$200mn loan contract with the Argentine finance ministry which will finance a road program aimed at improving the road system near the Cristo Redentor border pass to Chile, the Argentine ministry said in a release.

Other loans include US$20mn for a financial inclusion program and US$110mn for a management program for public funds administration office AFIP.

For this year, the ministry expects to close loan deals worth nearly US$2.4bn for water, infrastructure, urban integration, gender equality and institutional strengthening programs.