Using the argument of “prioritizing social protection,” the government of Javier Milei asked the World Bank to cancel projects for US$ 1.7 billion to address the “railway emergency.”
In a decision that reorients the priorities of international financing, the Argentine Government asked the World Bank to cancel nine infrastructure and development projects for a total of 1.7 billion dollars.
The objective is to redirect these funds towards social programs, employment and education, leaving aside initiatives such as the modernization of the Belgrano Sur Line, a project that promised to improve passenger transport in the Metropolitan Area of Buenos Aires (AMBA).
Among the suspended projects, the loan 9390-AR stands out, which had been approved in 2022 to electrify and modernize the Belgrano Sur Line.
This project, valued at 598.5 million dollars, included the renovation of tracks, the improvement of stations and the installation of new signaling systems. If it had been completed, it would have benefited 65,000 daily passengers and more than 2 million people in its area of influence, which includes towns such as Gregorio de Laferrere, González Catán and Merlo.
Pablo Quirno, Secretary of Finance, justified the decision by pointing out that the suspended projects are not part of the current priorities of the Government. “Today the railway emergency is the priority, along with education and social assistance,” said Quirno, who also stressed that the approved loans that are not executed only increase the public debt without generating immediate benefits.
Social programs at the center of priorities
The restructuring includes the suspension of funding for other relevant initiatives, such as the development of clean energy for vulnerable communities (359 million dollars), the strengthening of food policies (128 million dollars) and the improvement of access to water and sanitation (190 million dollars). Instead, the Government seeks to “channel resources towards direct transfers for vulnerable populations and the Fomentar Empleo program.”
This reorientation responds to the theoretical approach of La Libertad Avanza, led by President Javier Milei, which seeks to minimize public works, arguing that the private sector is more efficient in the allocation of resources. Under this logic, the Government is betting on reducing net debt, using the resources of the financial surplus to finance social programs and other strategic priorities.
Although the authorities clarified that the cancelled projects could be resumed with other sources of financing, the decision generates uncertainty about the future of the railway works.
The Belgrano Sur Line, which connects some of the most densely populated areas of the AMBA, will continue to rely on precarious services while its fate is defined.
With this move, the Government seeks to balance the immediate needs of the population with the objectives of debt relief, in an economic context marked by budgetary restrictions.
Te Puede Interesar:
https://www.instagram.com/diarioncomatanza
https://facebook.com/diarionco
https://youtube.com/@diarionco2150
