Rolando Figueroa announced that Neuquén will pave the access to Villa Traful and northern routes with credit from the IDB

In this sense, in May the CAF contribution had been announced to continue the paving work on route 23, to which will also be added the junction with national route 242 in Pino Hachado-junction route 13 in Litrán, with 35 kilometers of extension; Post Jara-junction provincial route 13 (access roundabout to Villa Pehuenia), with 22 kilometers; and Rahue-Puente Pilo Lil, with 36.4 kilometers.

This Wednesday, Figueroa announced that the IDB will also make contributions to advance the connectivity plan in the province, although he assured that they are routes that require long construction periods. “What you are going to see are routes being executed, which could take 18 or 24 months,” said the president, who highlighted the organization of public accounts as a fundamental step to cover the public works deficit. “We are not paralyzed because CAF is going to finance, we reduce the superfluous expenses of the State,” he said.

“We have been working on a financing scheme for the public works that are needed, of course many more resources are needed than what we have obtained, but it does give us the guideline to be able to move forward with those that have been marked as priorities,” said the governor. about the contribution that the IDB will make, with “the best rates that exist” to advance in the north and south of Neuquén.

The details of the credit with the IDB

“With the IDB we are working on the works that we are going to include. Many are from the north of Neuquén, such as the second part from La Puntilla to Varvarco, part of the paving to Manzano Amargo, where in the summer we want to have a new inn,” said Figueroa and He added that there is also work planned for the southern area. “One is the route from the Confluencia in Traful to the bridge on the Minero River. We are going to connect the 237 directly to the route of the 7 Lakes, you can reach Villa La Angostura and Chile through alternative steps, but it gives you access to a very nice place that we have, which is Neuquén,” he stated.

Figueroa expressed that the contributions, which would be around 200 million dollars, “are part of the financing that we requested of 500 million at the beginning of the administration, which is not for current expenses, but for public works.” The negotiations with international credit organizations also allow the Neuquén administration to face the public debt maturities scheduled for the coming years.

“This allows us to pay the Neuquén public debt, which 60% matures in these two or three years. There are 360 ​​million this year, 360 million in 2025 and 300 million in 2026,” said the president and highlighted that his administration managed to pay the bonuses from the state without going into debt or asking for royalty advances, as used to happen in the past.

“As soon as the supply of funds from the IDB arises, we will be the first to receive them. Last week, Minister Caputo sent the prioritization note to the IDB. It is important to have the possibility of obtaining 200 million dollars, which do not come from immediately but according to the projects and the approval of the banks,” he said and clarified that there will be contributions from the municipalities and the private sector, which manages to increase the value of its capital from the improvements provided by the State.

Deficit of works and efficient administration

The Neuquén governor stated that there is a large deficit in infrastructure and admitted that, if all unsatisfied demands had to be covered, the State of Neuquén would have to invest about 4 billion dollars. “There are two provincial budgets, which date back years, but we cannot not pay anything for two years to dedicate ourselves to doing works,” he assured.

On the other hand, he explained that he will be intransigent with the administration of resources to advance the works without incurring unnecessary expenses. “If someone asks or offers something improper from one side, let me know. In the province there will not be a cent to do it from the left, we need businessmen who compete, we are not going to pay double what is paid in the country for a route,” he said. “It’s over, either they lower prices or compete with outsiders. It’s my turn to manage the resources of the people of Neuquén and I’m going to be efficient,” he declared.

He highlighted the savings that he has been carrying out since his inauguration in December, and clarified that this efficient administration is taken into account and rewarded by credit organizations, which see Neuquén as a candidate to receive international financing to advance the development of infrastructure.