DistantNews
Support us
🇦🇷 Argentina /Energy & Infrastructure

The challenge of investing in infrastructure

From Clarín · () Spanish

Translated from Spanish and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

Press release Named sources New plan
  • The IDB and ECLAC estimate that Latin American countries need to invest 5% to 6% of GDP in infrastructure to reach development standards.
  • Argentina’s public-works investment averaged 1.74% of GDP from 2015 to 2022 and is projected at 0.4% this year, increasing pressure on private investment.
  • Clarín’s Democracia y Desarrollo forum will examine infrastructure, logistics and competitiveness with political, business and institutional speakers on Sept. 8.

For Argentina, the infrastructure challenge is not only about building more. It is about reaching the investment levels needed for development without breaking the government’s commitment to fiscal balance.

The Inter-American Development Bank and the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean estimate that a Latin American country must invest between 5% and 6% of GDP in infrastructure to reach development standards. Argentina is trying to pursue that goal through instruments including the RIGI and private concessions for roads, railways and the Hidrovía.

Expanding competitive frontiers

· ClarínThe title of the 2026 edition of the Democracia y Desarrollo cycle.

The scale of the logistics problem can be seen in one comparison from the Rosario Board of Trade: transporting grain from Salta to ports in Greater Rosario can cost up to 20 times more than shipping it from there to China. The example shows how infrastructure spending can affect the competitiveness of production.

Infrastructure for Development

· ClarínThe title of the Sept. 8 meeting focused on Argentina’s infrastructure challenge.

According to CIPPEC data cited by Clarín, public-works investment averaged 1.74% of GDP between 2015 and 2022. This year’s national budget sets the figure at 0.4%. The sharp reduction, driven by the pursuit of fiscal balance, is expected to be offset by private investment under the government’s plan.

These issues will form the focus of the third and final meeting this year in Clarín’s seventh Democracia y Desarrollo cycle. The Sept. 8 event at Buenos Aires’ Malba museum, titled “Infrastructure for Development,” will bring together Cabinet Chief Diego Santilli, several provincial governors, business leaders, infrastructure experts and representatives of major industry groups. The construction chamber CAMARCO says a lack of maintenance, stalled projects and the absence of a comprehensive plan have created an infrastructure debt that threatens road safety, logistics competitiveness and quality of life. It estimates that Argentina loses $25 billion a year because of inadequate maintenance.

Without infrastructure, there will be no growth or sustainable development.

· CAMARCOThe construction chamber’s warning about the effects of Argentina’s infrastructure deficit.
About this summary

Originally published by Clarín in Spanish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

More Stories

From Our Blog