The Projects and Construction Review, Eighth Edition – ARGENTINA
THE PROJECTS AND CONSTRUCTION REVIEW, EIGHTH EDITION – CHAPTER 4 by Pedro Nicholson.
INTRODUCTION
Since Mauricio Macri´s appointment as President of Argentina on December 2015, the country has become appealing for foreing investors.
There is a sense of optimism about the state of the country, particulary in some industry sectors. Since President Macri took office, a couple of measures taken reflect this optimism, for example the elimination of foreing exchange restrictions and the negotiations with the holdouts of the outstanding public external debt, with which, after 15 years of open fighting, Argentina has finally reached an agreement. These measures, together with tighter regulation of the economy, hace generated an optimistic atmosphere in the Argentine market as the country is expected to recieve a flood of new investment in the coming years as a result of confidence that the new government has instilled, and the return to a trusted market economy after the 2001 bottomless crisis and more than a decade of populism.
In addition, in August 2015 a new Unfied Civil an Commercial Code entered into force, which superseded the Civil an Commercial Codes that had been in force in the country for 150 years. As only two years have passed sinse the implementation of this new Code, its impact is yet to be analysed.
THE YEAR IN REVIEW
In 2017, the Argentine energy sector continued to receive more attractive incentives from the government than in previous years. In particular, regarding the renewable energy sector, the government tendered various construction projects, focusing on solar energy and wind energy generators. Eighty-eight projects were allocated for a total of 2,043MW.
The Macri administration implemented policies fostering mining development as soon as it took office. The mining sector celebrated the removal of mineral export duties in the range of 5 per cent to 10 per cent of mineral sale profits. The new administration has shown a commitment to respect the existing “rules of the game” that enabled the develeopment of mining activity during the 1990s, principally Law No. 24,196 (the Mining Investment Law(MIL)). The MIL establishedbenefits for mining companies registred in the Mining Secretariat´s Mining Investors Registry, including but not limited to:
a- 30 years of tax stability as from the filing of the project´s bankable feasibility study;
b – the right to deduct from the income tax statement 100 per cent of the amounts invested in prospecting, research, mineral and metallurgiacal test, and other works aimed at determining the technical and economic feasibility of the project;
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