Eight corridors, eleven provinces, twenty-year contracts
Economy Minister Luis Caputo announced the signing of the concession contracts for the takeover of eight sections belonging to Stage III of the Federal Concessions Network, spanning more than 3,900 kilometres of national highways. According to the minister, the corridors pass into private hands starting Wednesday, October 7, and the total of national routes under concession will then exceed 9,000 kilometres. The contracts run for twenty years and cover operation, administration, repair, widening, conservation and maintenance, plus user services and complementary activities that generate additional revenue under the toll-based public works concession scheme.[S1][S2][S3]
The awarded stage crosses eleven provinces and links cities, ports and border crossings described as strategic for production and logistics. The Centro section covers 682 kilometres of national routes 9, 19 and 34 in Santa Fe and Córdoba. Centro Norte takes 536 kilometres of route 34 between Santa Fe and Santiago del Estero. The Noroeste corridor comprises 597 kilometres of routes 9, 34, 66, 1V66 and A-016 across Santiago del Estero, Tucumán, Salta and Jujuy. Litoral groups 547 kilometres of routes 12 and 16 in Corrientes and Chaco, while Noreste adds 456 kilometres of routes 12 and 105 in Corrientes and Misiones.[S1][S2][S3]
The remaining sections are the Chaco-Santa Fe corridor, with 497 kilometres of national route 11; the Mesopotámico section, covering 276 kilometres of routes 12 and 18 in Entre Ríos; and Cuyo, with 329 kilometres of national route 7 in Mendoza. The ministry described these corridors as strategic for regional connectivity, freight transport, production, trade and tourism, and said they will be exploited, administered and maintained by private concessionary firms.[S1][S2][S3]
Winning firms and toll rates
Covicen will operate the Centro section and Autovía del Norte will take Centro Norte. Autovía del NOA will administer Noroeste, Corredor Litoral will hold Litoral and Camino Selva will run Noreste. Mesopotámico will manage the section of the same name, Vías del Paraná will handle Chaco-Santa Fe and Caminos del Aconcagua will take Cuyo.[S1]
For Centro, the selected bid came from AFEMA S.A., Pablo Federico e Hijos S.A. and Guido Mogetta S.A., with a toll of 1,399 pesos plus VAT. Centro Norte went to José Cartellone Construcciones Civiles S.A. at 2,175 pesos plus VAT, and Mesopotámico to IEB Construcciones S.A. and Trading MRG S.A.U. at 3,564.99 pesos plus VAT. Noroeste was awarded to Autovía Construcciones y Servicios S.A., Vapeu S.R.L. and Guigivan S.R.L. at 2,285 pesos plus VAT, while Litoral went to JCR S.A. and Néstor Julio Guerechet S.A. at 2,876.04 pesos plus VAT.[S1][S3]
Noreste was assigned to Carlos E. Enriquez S.A. and Hormi S.A. at 2,950 pesos plus VAT. The consortium of José Eleuterio Pitón S.A., Rovial S.A. and Obring S.A. obtained Chaco-Santa Fe at 3,520 pesos plus VAT, and Laugero Construcciones S.A., Green S.A. and Corporación del Sur S.A. won Cuyo at 3,090.2462 pesos plus VAT. All eight contracts last twenty years.[S1][S3]
From decree to takeover, and the fiscal backdrop
The process began with decree 97/2025, signed in February 2025, which authorised the full privatisation of Corredores Viales and empowered the Economy Ministry to call and conduct the tenders. The prequalification stage of bidders was approved in July 2026, and the formal award was set out in Economy Ministry Resolution 1379/2026, published on August 24 in the Official Gazette. With this step, the government says it has completed the award of more than 9,000 kilometres of national routes across sixteen sections, carrying close to 80 percent of national traffic according to Caputo.[S1][S3]
On the same Tuesday it emerged that the government expanded the issuance of three Treasury bonds to settle debts with public works contractors for projects left unpaid between 2022 and 2025. The authorised issuance totals 211.119 billion pesos under the Simplified Regime for the Extinction of Obligations, and participating firms will receive Treasury bonds instead of cash. The instruments are peso-denominated capitalisable bonds maturing on October 30, January 15, 2027, or April 30, 2027.[S2]
The transfer is the government's bet to keep the highways in shape after more than two years of shrinking investment, while also aiming to help revive a battered construction sector. The Budget includes a project allowing the new concessionaires to offset 100 percent of the cheque tax against profits tax, VAT and employer contributions, and to receive VAT fiscal credit certificates for construction and maintenance works, with the hope that provinces will follow by cutting gross income tax. Vialidad Nacional will supervise contract compliance through performance indicators.[S2][S3]
