With project costs estimated to be somewhere between one-quarter and one-half billion dollars, the Government required additional financial resources to close the gap between what it could contribute on its own to the project and the ultimate cost once completed. The Government also sought a design and construction approach that would most cost-effective, and a project delivery approach that would minimize the risks of cost overruns. Therefore it decided to undertake the bridge project using a design-build-operate-maintain (DBOM) contract delivery approach, with equity participation by the successful contractor.
Following a competitive bidding process, the Government of Argentina through the Minister of Economy and Public Works awarded a concession to the Puentes del Litoral SA consortium comprising of a number of local and international construction companies: Impregilo SPA (Italy), Iglys SA (subsidiary of Impregilo), Hocthtief AEG (Germany), Techint SACEI (Argentina) and Benito Roggio e Hijos SA (Argentina). During the project development phase of the concession contract, the concessionaire took ownership of the facility as it was being designed and built. Subsequent to the completion of the bridge, the ownership was transferred to the Federal Government.
The relative participation in the $430.8 million project by its three principal financing partners is described below:
• Public Sector: The Government contributed US$207 million (48%);
• Private Sector: The Puentes del Litoral SA consortium provided US$150 million (35%); and
• International Financial Institution: The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) provided two loans totaling $US73.8 million (17%), divided as follows:
- US$33.1 million loan from the Bank's ordinary capital; and
- US$40.7 million syndicated loan from funds provided by commercial banks with subscription of participation agreements with the IDB.
The Federal Government instituted tolls on the bridge to cover debt service costs associated with project financing for bridge development, operations, maintenance, and life-cycle preservation.