Argentina’s government does its best to unlock the potential of Vaca Muerta, the country is readying a tender for a $500 million railway train line that could help to boost shale play, Bloomberg reported.
Argentina’s Transport Minister Guillermo Dietrich explained in the recent interview the details of $500 million rail project tender. Minister said that President Mauricio Macri has already familiarized with the proposal, which was presented to the national leader two weeks ago. The proposal was developed by state-run oil company YPF SA and Energy Minister Juan Jose Aranguren, and now, the tender needs Macri’s approval before the government invites companies to bid.
The train would link towns in the heart of the Patagonian shale field to the Atlantic port of Bahia Blanca more than 400 miles away. Argentina’s construction would be handled by a public-private partnership working with the government, and it would include both new rails and an upgrade of existing tracks.
According to President Macri’s office, the government plans to raise $30 billion for dozens of PPP projects, including road and train networks, in three years. Winners of the first projects could be announced in a month. The railway, to be called the North Patagonia Train, has long been touted as a key to unlocking the potential of the Vaca Muerta, Argentina’s answer to the Permian Basin.
Meanwhile, the conference titled: “1915, the longest year of the Ottoman Empire” in Buenos Aires was called off amid threats from the Armenian diaspora in the country. Armenians in Argentina are known for their hate speech and radical protests against Turkey. According to information gathered by Anadolu Agency, Turkey’s Ankara University and Argentina’s University of Belgrano and National University of the West were set to hold a conference in Buenos Aires on March 20-22, 2018.
