The Government approved the model Concession Contract between the National State and the company Agua y Saneamientos Argentinos Sociedad Anónima, AySA, within the framework of the privatization of the company.
It did so through Resolution 543/2026, published this Tuesday in the Official Gazette. The regulations stipulate that the company must comply with a transition action plan to ensure adequate operational management during the change of ownership.
According to the Government, The aim is to attract a strategic operator through a national and international public tender, while continuing to guarantee the continuity of the drinking water and sewage service.
Privatization of AySA: in search of a “strategic operator”
The decision was adopted in the context of the implementation of law 27,742, which declared “subject to privatization” to the company and entrusted the Executive with the organization of the necessary procedures to carry out the sale of the majority shareholding to a strategic operator.
According to the recitals of the resolution issued by the Ministry of Economy, the Executive seeks to complete the sale of at least 51% of the share package to a “strategic operator.” This operation will be carried out through a national and international public bidding procedure.
For the rest of the shares that still remain in the hands of the National State, placement on stock exchanges and markets in the country will be aimed at. This process has the active intervention of the Temporary Special Executing Unit “Agency for the Transformation of Public Companies”.
The objective of establishing a new contract before the sale is to regulate with “greater clarity” the rights and obligations of both the State, grantor, and the future operator, concessionaire, in line with the recommendations of the Circumstantiated Report prepared by the Public Company Transformation Agency.
In this sense, upon approval of the contract, AySA must comply with the Transition Action Plan for the remaining period of this year. Besides, must contemplate the integration of goals and obligations that extend beyond that period in the first tariff cycle, between January 2027 and December 2031.
The economic portfolio, as the enforcement authority, has the responsibility of adopting all the necessary measures to avoid interruptions and guarantee that the transition towards majority private ownership does not affect the quality or coverage of the service.
The road to the privatization of AySA
The Government of Javier Milei confirmed in the middle of last year that it would move forward with privatization. lor formalized with the publication of a new regulatory framework for the new concession model. Then, with decree 494/2025, they proposed the design of that concession, with the sale of a part of the package of shares on the Stock Exchange.
This regulatory framework established the legal framework that grants territorial exclusivity to the future operator once the concession progresses. Furthermore, it gives you ample margins for the execution of unregulated commercial activities and profitability criteria comparable with other private activities.
