The Government of Uruguay has announced that a Sacyr-led team has been selected as the preferred bidder to develop three sections of the route 21 and 24 through a PPP model.

The wining consortium is composed by Sacyr Concesiones S.L, Sacyr Construcciones S.A and Grinor S.A. The team beat out competition from two other shortlisted consortia: Grupo Ruta 21 y 24, made up Construcciones e Instalaciones (CIEMSA), Construcciones Viales y Civiles (CVC), Hernández y González (H&G), Ramón C. Álvarez , Molinsur and Traxpalco; and a team composed of TEYMA Uruguay S.A (Abengoa) and José J. Chediak Sociedad Anónima Industrial, and Comercial y Agropecuaria (S.A.I.C.A).

The 179 km road project will involve the development of the section 2 of the route 21 and the sections 2 and 3 of the route 24. This new road will link the main ports of the country. The project could also involve the development of two bypasses, one in Dolores and one in Mercedes.

The project will be developed on a design, build, finance, operate and maintenance basis. The contract period will be 24 years and the concessionaire will be remunerated via availability payments.

The total project investment is estimated between US$64 million and US$92 million, while the contract value is estimated between US$165 and US$235 million.

The project is expected to be finished in 36 months after construction works start. The two routes are considered strategic for the country. Route 21 carries most of the grain transported in the country and route 24 transports wood production.