Thursday, January 9, 2025

BNamericas – Ecuador calling for proposals for infrastruc…

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Ecuador’s government will receive until March 31 private initiatives for public service infrastructure projects, both at the national and local level, to include them on the agenda of projects to be developed as public-private partnerships.

“We are inviting local and foreign companies to submit their private initiatives by end-March so they can be considered within the PPP agenda that we are promoting for the development of the country,” Pablo Cevallos, secretary of public and private investments, told BNamericas.

According to Cevallos, the call for proposals is an opportunity to close infrastructure gaps, especially for local governments, transferring the risks and initial costs of the studies to the private sector.

Under current legislation, private proponents are responsible for the costs of the studies, and the authorities must supervise and approve them.

The greatest beneficiaries of the call are expected to be water infrastructure projects, especially potable water and wastewater treatment plants. There is a significant deficit in the country in this area, even in large cities such as Quito, Guayaquil and Cuenca, due to population growth and other factors, but even more so in small towns, where resources for projects of this type are scarcer.

Last month, the attorney general’s office issued a favorable ruling allowing water infrastructure projects – which according to the law are the responsibility of municipalities – to be developed under the PPP modality.

The participation of the private sector, within a tight fiscal framework, is seen as essential for the development of quality infrastructure and public services. Through private initiatives, the aim is to promote collaboration between the State and the private sector, allowing the private sector to contribute its experience, resources and capacity for innovation to address these challenges, said Cevallos.

Private initiatives received by the end of March will enjoy a 10-percentage point advantage when the public tenders are called for the proposed works, regardless of the value of the projects.

Currently, the national PPP registry comprises eight projects: the Manta-Quevedo, Montecristi-Jipijapa-La Cadena, Pifo-Y de Baeza, Bahía-Cojimies, Ambato-Baños-Puyo and Loja-Catamayo highways, the modernization of Esmeralda port and the southern Guayaquil viaduct.

In October, Ecuador climbed from 15th to 9th place in the 2023-24 Latin American and Caribbean PPP investment climate index of Economist Impact and the IDB. The index evaluates the capacity of 26 regional countries to implement sustainable and impactful public-private partnerships.  

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