Mauricio Macri, Argentina's president, is planning to send a public private partnership (PPP) bill to Congress by early July.

The bill is expected to generate investment for the infrastructure sector. It would regulate the provision of guarantees to investors and facilitate access to multilateral lenders and capital markets. According to sources, the new bill could open up US$90 billion of long-term credit lines.

The development of the bill has been designed in consultation with, among others, local business chambers and multilateral lenders such as the World Bank’s International Finance Corporation, the Corporacion Andina de Fomento and the Inter-American Development Bank.

According to sources, Horacio Reyser, Macri’s adviser on foreign investment, stated:

“If the state had to build all the works with its own financing and its own technical capacities it would take a lot longer than if one opens up the possibility of construction and finance to other players. This needs to be seen as an additional source of financing that can generate efficiency and transparency in infrastructure projects.”

“The aim is to get to where one can issue bonds in capital markets to finance an infrastructure project. The security and knowledge the PPP law brings to this ecosystem will allow for this kind of financing.”

The president has recently announced a plan to spend as much as US$26 billion over the next four years to upgrade the country's transport system, including roads, railways, airports and ports. Additionally the country aims to attract foreign direct investment of about US$25 billion a year.