Infrastructure: Argentina
Argentina has ordered a new round of toll-road concessions, opening more of its national highway network to private operators. Decree 1358/2026, published in the Official Gazette on Friday 13 November 2026, requires a call for tenders within 12 months.
Key Facts
—What. Decree 1358/2026 makes listed national routes subject to toll concessions and orders a call for tenders within 12 months.
—Who. President Javier Milei and Luis Caputo, the economy minister, signed it on 12 November 2026.
—When. Published Friday 13 November 2026; in force from the next day.
—Still open. The routes sit in an annex; the ministry will define the actual stretches later.
—Power Index. Argentina ranks 4th of 14 in The Rio Times Latin America Power Index, with 60.2 points (November 2026 edition).
What the Decree Orders
Article 1 declares that the national routes named in an annex will be conceded for tolls, to build, operate, maintain and expand them. They form part of the “Red Federal de Concesiones”, the government’s federal road-concession programme, and only stretches the Economy Ministry defines later are covered.
Through its Transport Secretariat, an Economy Ministry office, the government must first obtain a technical report from Vialidad Nacional, the national roads agency. A national and international public tender can then be called.
The decree names Vialidad Nacional as the authority that will oversee the finished concession contracts. This is set out in Article 3 of the decree.
Article 4 requires the call for tenders within 12 months of the decree entering into force. Article 6 sets that for the day after publication, so the outer deadline falls around 14 November 2027, and the call may come sooner.
In Plain English
Concession: a private company builds, repairs or runs a road and recovers its costs from tolls.
Vialidad Nacional: Argentina’s federal roads agency, which oversees the national network.
Official Gazette: the Boletín Oficial, where Argentine laws and decrees take legal effect.
Where This Fits in the Road Programme
The decree’s own preamble lists four earlier stages of the programme: Stage I, Stage II, Stage II-B and Stage III. The resolutions it cites for them are dated between 18 November 2025 and 20 August 2026.
As one example, the Economy Ministry authorised the Stage II-B tender for four stretches, named Mediterráneo, Puntano, Portuario Sur and Portuario Norte, in Resolution 112/2026, published on 11 February 2026. The new decree extends the same method to more roads.
The new stretches must leave out sections that earlier stages already cover. The preamble names National Routes 3, 9, 11, 12, 14, 16, 33, 34 and 35 as roads that also appear in earlier stages, on different sections.
Wider context is in our earlier report on Caputo’s plans for roads, mortgages and dollar savings. More on the country is in our Argentina coverage.
Why It Matters for US Readers
Tenders under this programme are national and international, so foreign infrastructure funds and construction groups are allowed to bid. The decree names no bidders, no investment amounts and no toll levels, so there is nothing yet to value.
For drivers and freight operators, a toll concession means paying tolls on roads the state would otherwise run itself. Because the decree sets no toll levels, the cost per trip is not yet known.
What to Watch Next
The first checkpoint is a ministry resolution that defines the stretches and the tender terms, for which the decree sets no date. The second is the formal deadline for the call to tender, around 14 November 2027.
The resolutions cited for four earlier stages date from November 2025 to August 2026, a rough guide to the pace of the programme. Whether the new round will move as fast is not known.
What Is Not Known
The annex that lists the routes sits in the web edition of the Official Gazette, and we could not read it. So the number of routes and stretches it covers is not confirmed.
The exact stretches, tender dates, contract lengths and toll levels are also open. The Economy Ministry has to settle them in later resolutions, and the decree sets no date for the first one.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does Decree 1358/2026 do?
It declares that the national routes listed in its annex will be conceded for tolls and requires tenders to be called within 12 months. It does not open a tender itself.
When must the tenders be called?
Within 12 months of the decree entering into force (Article 4), which is the day after its publication on 13 November 2026. That puts the outer limit around 14 November 2027.
Who will oversee the road contracts?
Vialidad Nacional, the national roads agency, will be the authority for the concession contracts. It must also supply the technical report before the stretches are defined.
Sources
Boletín Oficial, Decreto 1358/2026 (13 Nov 2026) · Argentina.gob.ar, Resolución 112/2026 (11 Feb 2026)
In depth
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