The Government declared of public interest the initiative to award a 20-year concession for the Paso de los Libres Border Center, COTECAR and the Integrated Control Area. The Grupo Promotor consortium, the only bidder still standing, brings together General Urquiza, Servicios Logísticos Integrados and Da Fré Obras Civiles.
The national Government declared of public interest the initiative to award a 20-year concession, with an option to extend it for five more, for the Paso de los Libres Border Center in Corrientes, the Cargo Terminal Complex (COTECAR) and the Integrated Control Area, on the border with Brazil. It did so through decree 1350/26, published in the Official Gazette.
The complex is located on National Route 117, next to the international bridge linking Paso de los Libres with Uruguaiana, and handles around 600 trucks a day carrying rice and agro-industrial production from the Litoral region. The site covers 94 hectares and has infrastructure to accommodate truckers and to inspect, load and unload merchandise.
The call for bids, launched in October 2024, received eight proposals, seven of which were rejected. The only one still standing is Grupo Promotor's, made up of three companies.
These are Empresa General Urquiza SRL, controlled by the Derudder family, owner of Flecha Bus; Servicios Logísticos Integrados SRL, operator of Fast Track, a logistics provider for Mercado Libre; and Da Fré Obras Civiles SA, in charge of the concession for the Obelisk viewpoint together with the firm Andesmar.
The proposal contemplates an onerous concession that would be financed with private investment through toll collection and parking and stay fees. Customs and sanitary controls will remain in the hands of public agencies.
Although the decree declared the initiative of public interest, the tender still has to be called and the final bidding terms and conditions approved. The text itself clarifies that "the legal, technical, economic and financial capacity of the future contractor, as well as compliance with the admissibility and qualification requirements" has not yet been accredited, and these will have to be verified in the corresponding process.
The plan proposed by the consortium includes "the recovery of operating areas, the repaving of roadways, the modernization of lighting and signage systems, the rehabilitation of the Operational Control Center, the upgrading of weighing, fire protection and perimeter security systems, the incorporation of non-intrusive inspection technology and the enhancement of the existing buildings of the Integrated Control Area".
It also contemplates "the relocation of the Bus Terminal within the site, accommodation facilities and services for drivers, commercial areas, a service station, mechanical workshop, tire shop, car wash with a water reuse system, an Immediate Care Unit, sports areas and an internal transport system using minibuses and sustainable stations". In addition, it envisages a photovoltaic solar park with an initial capacity of one megawatt, subject to expansion.
