The Ministry of Transport and Public Works of Uruguay has received three proposals to develop three sections of the route 21 and 24.

The three teams that have bid for the project are the following:

• Grupo Ruta 21 y 24: Construcciones e Instalaciones S.A (CIEMSA), Construcciones Viales y Civiles (CVC), Hernández y González S.A (H&G), Ramón C. Álvarez S.A, Molinsur and Traxpalco S.A.

• TEYMA Uruguay S.A (Abengoa) and José J. Chediak Sociedad Anónima Industrial, Comercial y Agropecuaria (S.A.I.C.A)

• SACYR Concesiones S.L, SACYR Construcciones S.A and Grinor S.A.

The 179 km road public private partnership (PPP) 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. The concessionaire will be remunerated via availability payments.

Construction works are set to begin by 2015. 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.