The minister of Industry, Energy and Mining (MIEM), Omar Paganini, expressed his “dismay” over the deserted tender for the association of a private portland business in Uruguay while the government “seemed like the best solution” for a “chronic problem” suffered by the National Administration of Fuel, Alcohol and Portland (Ancap).
The head of the MIEM told the Informal Breakfast program that the tender for the Portland “It started with many interested parties”, and that in the final stage there were still “four solid ones who did all the evaluation work in details and asked for extensions.” However, none of them finally showed up to the call that was made on Tuesday of last week.
For Paganini, the conflict with the Ancap union —which opposes the association of a private party in the historically monopolistic business of the State and which, consequently, carries out a plan of struggle and forceful measures— may “have played a role” in the final decision of the companies, a position shared by different authorities from both the government and the state oil company.
“We have a chronic problem with Ancap portland, 20 long years with a lot of money lost which ends up being supported by the price of fuel and the public treasury. The government wanted to solve it, it seemed like the best solution to us and the solution did not work,” said Paganini, in conclusion about the deserted tender.
The steps to follow in the Portland business
Beyond the failure that the absence of offers in the bidding process meant and the important deficit that the Portland business generates for Ancap, Paganini He denied that the state division was going to be closed of the industry. “It affects many departments in the interior of the country with employment problems. The government does not want to think about closure,” he explained.
In that sense, he announced that a “joint evaluation” is being carried out that will be analyzed together with the president. Luis Lacalle Pou when he returns from his series of trips—he is currently in NY participating in the United Nations General Assembly— to determine how to proceed on this issue.
One of the options, which is under legal analysis, is to propose an association again, but this time with “the possibility of negotiate directly with an offeror“, as also advanced by the vice president of Ancap, Diego Durand.
“Conditions are likely to be similar to what you already saw, except that over time they may stabilize and be less conflictive. It will have to be with the same conditions as the specifications, that is established by law. I’m not very optimistic about itbut it could happen,” considered the head of the MIEM.
On union position to invest again so that in the future the sector becomes profitable again, Paganini pointed out that the proposal “is voluntaristic.” “That the taxpayer continues to put money without a way, in a recontra saturated market where a good part of the public works is done with cement of Ancap, So the law they propose would not change anything. The only solution is open markets abroad and that requires productive investment“, hill.
Source: Ambito
