| Work Detail |
The Ministry of Deregulation and State Transformation announced a profound change to the public works contracting system through officially published Provision 24/2025. The measure, which involves the definitive elimination of the former Registry of Builders, seeks to streamline the system, expand competition, and allow the participation of new companies, even those with no prior experience in public construction. The regulation, promoted by the National Procurement Office and signed by its head, Soledad Vallejos Meana, eliminates the pre-qualification system that governed access to tenders for decades. This system, based on so-called construction capacity, limited the volume of work each company could undertake based on its track record, assets, and level of current commitments, which—according to authorities—generated market concentration and blocked the entry of new bidders. From now on, tenders with budgets under 15,000 modules will not require a pre-qualification process, while for larger projects, a guarantee will be sufficient, the requirements for which will be defined on a case-by-case basis by the National Procurement Office. This includes local and foreign companies with no track record in public works, which will be able to compete under more flexible and open conditions. The government argues that the reform will facilitate bidding processes, reducing procedures that previously required hundreds of documents and administrative controls, many of them redundant. The intention is to promote greater competition, agility, and transparency, aspects that have been repeatedly highlighted as lacking by various stakeholders in the sector. Minister Federico Sturzenegger described the measure as historic and emphasized that it marks the end of more than 70 years of cartelized public works operations. The previous system not only protected a closed group of companies, but also prevented new players from entering, perpetuating a perverse distribution logic. Thats over, he stated on his official social media account. The measure also responds to the general deregulation policy spearheaded by President Javier Milei, amid a context of severe fiscal adjustment that has paralyzed numerous ongoing projects, generating tensions with provinces and construction associations. |
