“We need less diagnosis and more facts”: the countryside, the industry and the unions resumed their request for greater investment in infrastructure

This is how he understood it Infrastructure Policy Council (CPI)which held its 5th annual meeting within the framework of the first day of the 138th Palermo Rural Exhibition.

The president of the Argentine Rural Society (SRA), Nicolás Pino, participated in the event; the general manager of the Association of Argentine Banks (Adeba), Francisco Gismondi; the president of the Argentine Chamber of Commerce and Services (CAC), Natalio Mario Grinman; the president of the Argentine Chamber of Construction, Gustavo Weiss; the president of the Argentine Industrial Union (UIA), Martín Rappallini; the co-secretary general of the General Confederation of Labor (CGT), Cristian Jerónimo; and the general secretary of the Construction Workers Union of the Argentine Republic (Uocra), Gerardo Martínez.

Pino, as host and to begin the debate, he maintained that “the world demands and we have the responsibility to respond with more production. But so that it can be coordinated and conducted infrastructure is needed“, to which the director of the SRA and coordinator of the Rural Roads Committee, Tomás Palazón, added: “we need less diagnosis and more facts. “We have been studying what needs to be done in terms of infrastructure for 100 years.”

But the fine numbers were in charge of the president of the Argentine Chamber of Construction, Gustavo Weiss. From the maximum of “without investment in infrastructure we will not be competitive”displayed a scenario in which he explained the amount of money needed for the country to once again have an infrastructure according to its needs.

“We have carried out more than 250 studies of what needs to be done throughout the country in terms of infrastructure investment. The figures involved are truly fantastic in Argentine terms. The infrastructure stock at new value, if we had to do it from scratch, is US$ 1.5 trillion. At replacement value already amortized it is US$ 600,000 million. And 4% annually, which is what according to international standards is needed for maintenance without any type of expansion, gives US$ 25,000 million. Figures that are, let’s say, for Argentine terms, absolutely unviable“Weiss detailed.

In this sense, he remarked: “this requires a formidable investmentboth from the private sector, as well as from the national, provincial and municipal states. And that is a discussion that we have to have, because if there is no money available today, there has to be tomorrow.”

“The country has to invest in infrastructure. Without that it is very difficult for the industry to compete in international terms, for agriculture, instead of producing 100 million tons, to produce 150 or 180 as some say. We clearly need awareness of the importance of infrastructure and the idea of ​​the CPI is to put this problem on the agenda,” Weiss concluded.

For its part, Rappallinihead of the UIA, noted that the business sector “agrees on what, but not on how. And in infrastructure, how is fundamental, because it requires long-term financing and legal certainty.”

“In all countries in the world, the infrastructure budget is between 4 and 5% of the total, while here only 2% is allocated to maintain what there is. We have a great opportunity to redefine all the infrastructure that they will need in terms of mining, energy, countryside and industry. The infrastructure has to be linked to production,” he concluded.

Finally, Jeromeone of the general secretaries of the CGT remarked that “having an infrastructure and connectivity policy is essential for such a large country with so much inequality.”

“We agree that Argentina has to move towards a macroeconomic order, with fiscal order and without inflation. The issue is at the cost of what. There must be an efficient, sustainable state that generates a balance between business owners and workers. We have to think about a virtuous country that is connected and has infrastructure,” he concluded.

From the national government, participated Fernando HerrmannSecretary of Infrastructure Coordination, who announced the keys to a highly anticipated project: the enhancement of 10,000 kilometers of national routes.

“80% of the mobility of the 40,000 kilometers of national routes moves there. And they have a great preponderance because they connect us with five neighboring countries. The large area that Argentina has gives a lot of productive capacity, but it also requires an infrastructure that has to be very efficient,” he stated.

The official reviewed the three stages of the project and, at the end, highlighted the importance of the meeting held. “We are very satisfied that representatives from all productive sectors participated, that there were spokespersons from the countryside, energy, industry and banks, and that this is a reflection of what infrastructure needs must be satisfied first,” he stated.