Esteban Echeverría mayor Fernando Gray asked Governor Axel Kicillof to have Aguas Bonaerenses S.A. bid in the tender for 90% of the shares of Agua y Saneamientos Argentinos S.A. The proposal forms part of the AySA privatization process promoted by the national government and seeks to give the Province a role in deciding who manages the metropolitan utility.
Gray based his request on the risk that a private administration could delay the works intended to expand the coverage of drinking water and sewage systems. He pointed out that the main historical investments were carried out by the national government and stated that Esteban Echeverría still needs infrastructure to support its urban growth and improve the living conditions of thousands of families.
AySA currently supplies drinking water to more than 11,4 million people and provides sewer services to more than 9,6 million. Its concession area comprises 26 municipalities of the province of Buenos Aires and City of Buenos Aires. For the mayor, any reduction in expansion goals could deepen territorial differences between areas that already have networks and neighborhoods that still lack access.
The submission sent to Buenos Aires provincial government also challenges the investment plan envisaged for the future concession. According to that document, during the first ten years, the maintenance and renovation of the existing infrastructure would be prioritized over the expansion of the networks. The main structural works would be left for later stages, and the universalization of the service would not be included within the 30 years of the concession.
The impact would be especially noticeable in Esteban Echeverría, where there is still a need to add water and sanitation connections to meet population growth. Gray maintained that an intervention by ABSA would allow the Province to participate in planning, set work priorities, and place the expansion of coverage among the central objectives of management.
The request does not mean that ABSA has already decided to compete or that the Province has made an offer. The concrete action was Gray's request for Kicillof to instruct the board of the provincial company to intervene in the tender. The decision will now depend on Buenos Aires provincial government and the final conditions of the sale process organized by the Nation.
