MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Argentina expects to raise $2 billion from privatizations this year, says Minister Caputo

“We are carrying out privatizations and concessions. The plan is to wrap them up by year-end. This will generate revenue of $2 billion,” Caputo said

Argentina's Economy Minister Luis Caputo announced on Tuesday that the state expects to raise around $2 billion before year-end through a package of privatizations and concessions of public companies, in what constitutes one of the pillars of President Javier Milei's economic program and a central commitment to the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The remarks were made at Expo EFI, the country's main economics and finance forum, on a day when the government took concrete steps on at least two of the most significant operations on its agenda.

“We are carrying out privatizations and concessions. The plan is to wrap them up by year-end. This will generate revenue of $2 billion,” Caputo said. The minister detailed that the timetable covers operations on Agua y Saneamientos Argentinos (AySA), the country's main drinking water utility; Transener, the largest high-voltage electricity transmission operator; Intercargo, the airport ground services provider; Belgrano Cargas, the state-owned freight rail operator; the Manuel Belgrano and San Martín thermal power plants; and the Mint.

The privatization of Transener entered its decisive phase on Tuesday with the opening of three financial bids to acquire 50% of Citelec, the controlling company of the transmission firm. The highest offer came from the consortium formed by Genneia and Edison Transmisión, at $356.17 million; Central Puerto came in second with $301 million, and Edenor third with $230 million. Transener operates 85% of Argentina's high-voltage grid, with more than 15,000 kilometers of 500-kilovolt lines. On the same day, the Economy Ministry approved through Resolution 543/2026 the contract model for the concession of drinking water and sewage services in the Buenos Aires metropolitan area, a key step in the AySA privatization process.

The plan also includes infrastructure concessions. Caputo specified that between June and July, concessions for some 9,000 kilometers of national road corridors will be awarded to private operators, and that the government will launch the bidding process for an additional 12,000 kilometers. Other assets on the list include the Paraguay-Paraná Waterway, the Retiro bus terminal in Buenos Aires, Yacimientos Carboníferos de Río Turbio (YCRT), Nucleoeléctrica Argentina, and the SOFSE passenger rail operator.

The privatization policy is part of the commitment Argentina took on when it signed an Extended Fund Facility program with the IMF in April 2025, totaling $20 billion in disbursements. The agreement sets demanding targets for the Central Bank's accumulation of international reserves, and revenue from the sale or concession of state assets is one of the projected sources for meeting them. The acceleration of operations is also intended to send a signal to international markets, at a time when country risk remains volatile and the ruling party faces the October midterm elections amid deteriorating economic indicators: March inflation came in at 3.4%, and economic activity fell 2.6% month-on-month and 2.1% year-on-year, according to the latest data from Indec.