The World Bank approved additional financing for USD 245 million for the Sustainable Development of the Matanza Riachuelo Basin II project, and USD 150 million for the Province of Buenos Aires for the Support for the transition of the Electric Social Rate program.

The works will directly benefit 2.4 million citizens in the 14 districts in the basin, and 1.2 million people living along the River Plate. Indirect beneficiaries amount to 10 million inhabitants who will achieve a correct and safe sewage discharge, by expanding the capacity of the collecting system.

The Project will benefit the area of ​​the AySA concession, which includes the City of Buenos Aires and 26 Districts of Greater Buenos Aires, and will contribute to the fulfillment of the goals of the National Plan for Drinking Water and Sanitation to reach levels of 100% coverage in drinking water and 75% in sewer in urban areas of the country.

The program to support the transition of the Electric Social Rate (TSE, for its acronym in Spanish) is aimed at the improvement of the housing conditions of the population in a situation of greater vulnerability, through the continuity of the electricity tariff subsidy.

Likewise, improvements are expected in the administration of the TSE that will result in greater effectiveness of the current scheme through the systematization and use of the data related to the allocation of the TSE and the strengthening of the management of the governing bodies in energy. 1.43 million inhabitants with TSE will be the direct beneficiaries and the entire population of the 135 Districts of the Province of Buenos Aires will be indirect beneficiaries.

The approval of these operations is the result of the work coordinated by the Under-secretariat of International Financial Relations of the Ministry of Finance, the national and provincial authorities, which together with the World Bank team of experts join their efforts to guarantee access to modern and affordable energy services, essential to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals.

Within the framework of the G20 Leaders’ Summit, the Minister of Treasury, Nicolás Dujovne, and the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Jorge Faurie, signed today a framework agreement with the Secretary of the Treasury of the United States, Steven T. Mnuchin, to strengthen investment in infrastructure and energy cooperation.

“This agreement will create investment and financing opportunities for energy development and economic growth, establishing a framework for integration and it represents an important progress for the United States and Argentina. Promoting energy is key for our economic development”, Dujovne said.

“The framework agreement signed today is part of an initiative of the United States called America Grows – in this case, with more opportunities for trade, investment and financing in energy and the promotion of economic growth for both countries. This framework agreement is aimed at promoting the private sector capital for investment in all the energy value chain, which includes the first stages of production, the generation, transmission and distribution of energy”, Secretary Mnuchin said. “Energy is a key element for economic growth. This framework agreement sets the ground for the growth, integration and security of the energy sector and it constitutes an important progress for the United States and Argentina”, Mr. Secretary added.

Under the framework agreement, both countries will cooperate to achieve the following objectives:

• Increase natural gas production, in particular from shale resources, and develop adequate natural gas storage capacity;
• Develop refined product midstream and downstream infrastructure;
• Develop greenfield natural gas-fired power plants and convert existing inefficient legacy natural gas, oil, diesel, and coal-fired power plants to operate using efficient combined cycle natural gas technology;
• Develop captive mini- and micro-grid “renewables plus” systems, which include renewable power generation, energy storage, and thermal power generation;
• Develop high-voltage power transmission infrastructure;
• Increase energy efficiency and develop “smart” buildings;
• Develop a deep and liquid market for infrastructure-backed debt instruments, including energy infrastructure-backed debt instruments; and
• Support investment in infrastructure and development of the energy sector in accordance with the objectives of each country regarding energy, environment and inclusive economic growth.

The IDB approved two integration operations that will benefit Argentina and Uruguay

The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) has approved two financing packages worth a total of USD 130 million in support of a program to modernize the Argentine-Uruguayan binational hydroelectric power plant in Salto Grande and a program to boost the competitiveness of the productive and tourism sectors of that region.

The plan to modernize the hydroelectric plant’s infrastructure and equipment will help ensure the facility’s availability by contributing reliability and efficiency to the inter-connection between the two countries.

The specific goal of the program is to prolong the plant’s working life. In order to achieve this it will finance work such as the modernization of the speed regulators of the turbines; replacement of the hydromechanical systems of the spillway and strengthening of the spillway gates; replacement of the facility’s lifting systems; upgrading of the auxiliary electrical systems and the control systems; replacement of the main transformers and the communications and control systems, among others.

The program will keep the plant operating at adequate levels of availability and reliability, benefiting 17 million users of the Argentine and Uruguayan electricity grids with renewable energy and quality, cost-efficient service.

Meanwhile, the Salto Grande Regional Development and Integration Program aims to boost the productivity of the productive sectors and enhance the region’s positioning as a tourism destination and as well as its connectivity so as to attract more local and foreign tourists.

The beneficiaries in Argentina will be nearly 2,000 citrus producers, berry and fruit growers, 291 forestry-industrial companies, 908 hotels and restaurants and more than 2,200 commercial outlets.

The IDB credit for the project to overhaul the hydroelectric plant is over 25 years with a five and a half year grace period and an interest rate pegged to the LIBOR. The loan for development and integration of Salto Grande carries those same terms.

The official will replace Guido Sandleris, the new Central Bank President

Miguel Braun will be the new Secretary of Economic Policy of the Ministry of Treasury of the Argentine Republic. Braun will coordinate the design, preparation and proposal of strategic guidelines for the programming of economic policy and long-term development.

Braun worked from December 2015 as Commerce Secretary within the Production Ministry.

He has obtained a Bachelor’s degree in Economics at the University of San Andrés and a Ph.D. in Economics at Harvard University. He has lectured at the University Torcuato Di Tella, University of San Andrés and University of Buenos Aires. He was the author – together with Lucas Llach – of “Macroeconomía argentina”, a textbook on macroeconomics. He was one of the founders and the Executive Director of CIPPEC and the Executive Director of Fundación Pensar from 2010 to 2015. Between 2012 and 2015 he was Director of Banco Ciudad.