Caputo and Frigerio signed an agreement with the IDB for USD 120 million
The Program to Strengthen Provincial Management is aimed at improving the autonomy and fiscal responsibility of jurisdictional governments.
The Minister of Finance, Luis Caputo, signed this afternoon, together with the Minister of Internal Affairs, Public Works and Housing, Rogelio Frigerio, a loan for 120 million dollars with the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) for the Program to Develop and Strengthen Provincial Management. This Program constitutes the background for future agreements to be executed during the next months.
The Ministers were also accompanied by the Governors from Corrientes, Ricardo Colombi, from Mendoza, Alfredo Cornejo, from Misiones, Hugo Passalacqua, from Neuquen, Omar Gutiérrez, and from Salta, Juan Manual Urtubey.
Within this context, the officials signed the commitment between the National Government and each Province to carry out the Program. It is aimed at contributing with growth through the improvement of the administration of income, expenditure, and public investment, as well as implementing infrastructure projects.
The Program has two elements: the strengthening of tax and financial administration and development investment. The first one is aimed at improving the Provinces’ fiscal autonomy and the efficiency of public expenditure; the second one will enable the financing of investments on strategic sectors of the economy.
The strengthening of tax and financial administration will allow developing the provincial abilities related to tax collection, financial administration and the management of the public investment cycle. The IDB will finance 36.4 million dollars and Argentina will invest 6.4 million dollars.
The Finance Minister, Luis Caputo, highlighted that “this program is a progress related to the strategic objective of the Government: to grow creating jobs with financial balance, fiscal responsibility and an equitable distribution of fiscal resources among the Provinces”.
In addition, the investment initiative for development is aimed at financing strategic sectors of each Province. In total, 96 million dollars will be invested, 81.6 out of which will be contributed by the IDB and 14.4 million by the National Government. This way, the estimated cost of the whole Program is of 141.2 million dollars.
In this sense, Caputo said: “With these resources we are going to finance strategic sectors of each Province to promote the economic growth and the creation of private jobs. In addition, it will be an appropriate instrument for a better management of the income and it will give priority to the quality of public expenditure in the provincial jurisdictions”.
The investments for development will benefit five Provinces with a total of 5.5 million inhabitants. Within the different works to be financed by the agreement with the IDB, we can highlight the improvement of the Costanera de Mendoza Avenue, the development of an industrial park in Salta, the i9mprovement of Route 40 in Nequen, and the construction of an aqueduct in Corrientes. It also includes the promotion of the Province of Misiones as a forest, touristic and energy alternative.