The dispute between the Province of Tierra del Fuego and the federal intervention of the port of Ushuaia added a new chapter with the denunciation of a millionaire overprice in the tender for the cleaning and building maintenance service of the port facilities. The Provincial Ports Directorate (DPP) announced that it will challenge the process promoted by the National Administration of Ports and Navigation (ANPYN), considering that the specifications contain technical and economic irregularities that compromise the transparency of the contracting.
The president of the DPP, Roberto Murcia, questioned the amount foreseen for the contract. According to him, the cleaning service that until the intervention was provided under provincial administration had a cost close to 6.7 million pesos per month, while the new tender contemplates 560 million pesos for a six-month period. This represents an increase of more than 1,185%, going from approximately 7 million to 90 million pesos per month without any justification.
The official argued that the specifications incorporate tasks and spaces that are not part of the port infrastructure. Among them, he mentioned references to balconies, rooftops and terraces, areas that —according to him— do not exist within the port of Ushuaia. It also includes building maintenance work that was historically carried out by the provincial agency's own staff, whom the intervention would have prevented from entering while advancing with private contracts to carry out the same tasks.
Murcia also questioned that the tenders are financed with resources generated by provincial port activity. Although he acknowledged that the General Port Administration currently manages the accounts where those funds are deposited, he emphasized that they are resources coming from the Fuegian port and destined for works on assets whose jurisdiction continues to be claimed by the Province.
In parallel to the administrative challenge, the DPP prepared a technical report detailing a series of observations on the tender specifications. Among the main objections is that the purpose of the contract is ambiguous, since it does not precisely define the scope of the tasks nor specify central aspects such as materials, quantities of supplies and other fundamental elements to guarantee fair competition.
The scandal adds to the growing tension between the Province and the national government over the control of the port of Ushuaia, a key infrastructure for the Fuegian economy. The federal intervention, promoted by Javier Milei's administration, has generated friction with provincial authorities, who claim the management of resources and jurisdiction over port facilities. The DPP's challenge seeks to stop a process that, in its view, not only implies a waste of public funds, but also an interference in areas that correspond to the province.
