Amid his electoral rally, Axel Kicillof presented the expansion of the dock at the Puerto de Dock Sud as a major breakthrough, but what he did not say on stage is that this is a project with a controversial tender held two years ago, questioned by businesspeople, legislators, and experts.
The 143-million-dollar project was awarded to Exolgan, the current terminal concessionaire, thanks to a process set up under the private initiative regime that, in practice, left potential competitors out of the game.
Unlike other Buenos Aires province ports, where works are carried out on state-owned land, the dock in question is being built directly on land owned by Exolgan, which gives the company absolute control over access and development of the works. This situation, according to rival companies—particularly APM Terminals Buenos Aires and Terminales Río de la Plata—was a direct blow to competition in the sector.
Exolgan and its closeness to the Buenos Aires provincial government
Polémica por la opaca obra portuaria que Axel Kicillof inauguró en Dock Sud
Exolgan, controlled by Singapore's PSA group and the shipping company MSC, keeps a close relationship with the Buenos Aires provincial government. The original tender included a key benefit: the possibility of matching any offer that doesn't exceed its own by more than 5%, in addition to an extremely short 45-day period to submit technical and environmental proposals. This, combined with the fact that any other bidder had to request permission from Exolgan itself to access the work area, made competition impossible.
The result was predictable: the sponsoring company secured the award and a 10-year usage permit, extendable for a similar period, under Axel Kicillof's umbrella.
Environmental concerns and doubts about transparency
Polémica por la opaca obra portuaria que Axel Kicillof inauguró en Dock Sud
In the past, the project had already faced criticism for the lack of a clear environmental impact assessment. Legislators requested reports from the Buenos Aires provincial Minister of Environment, Daniela Vilar, to confirm whether the project complied with legal requirements, which is why the execution of the project was delayed for two years.
The demolition of the old dock 1 and the construction of infrastructure to receive large-draft vessels were presented by Kicillof as a bet on development.
However, this is a case of corporate favoritism toward Exolgan, which consolidates the monopoly of an operator closely linked to the Buenos Aires political power and leaves other ports at a clear competitive disadvantage.
