AySA (Agua y Saneamientos Argentinos) is set to return to private ownership after Argentina’s government confirmed plans to sell 90% of the state-controlled water and sanitation company, marking one of the most significant privatization moves under President Javier Milei’s economic reform program.
Economy Minister Luis Caputo announced that tender documents for the sale will be published shortly, formalizing a process that has been underway for months as part of a broader strategy to reduce state involvement in public services. The remaining 10% of the company will be retained by employees through a participatory ownership scheme, while the majority stake is expected to be transferred to a strategic private operator with technical and financial capacity to manage large-scale infrastructure investments.
The administration argues that private participation will improve efficiency, expand service coverage, and attract much-needed investment into Argentina’s aging water and sewage infrastructure. Officials have framed the move as part of a shift toward a more market-driven model of public utilities, where state-owned enterprises are replaced or restructured to encourage competition and private capital inflows.
The privatization plan follows a new 30-year concession framework, with the possibility of a 10-year extension, signaling long-term structural changes to the country’s water management system. The decision represents a continuation of President Javier Milei’s broader policy agenda, which emphasizes reducing state ownership across key sectors and expanding private sector participation in areas traditionally managed by public institutions.
Critics, however, point to Argentina’s previous privatization experience in the 1990s, when service expansion reportedly stagnated and infrastructure investment lagged behind expectations. They argue that the later renationalization in 2006 under then-president Néstor Kirchner led to measurable improvements in coverage, reaching millions more residents in the Buenos Aires metropolitan region, and warn that reversing public ownership could reintroduce past inefficiencies or inequality in access to essential services.
Alongside the water sector reforms, the government also announced the approval of major mining investments under the Regime of Incentive for Large Investments, further signaling its pro-market economic direction. The approved projects include large-scale copper and lithium developments, reflecting Argentina’s push to attract foreign capital into its mineral-rich regions amid global demand for energy transition materials.
These combined measures illustrate a broader restructuring of Argentina’s economic model, with the administration prioritizing privatization and extractive investment as core pillars of growth strategy. Supporters argue this approach will unlock capital and modernize infrastructure, while opponents caution that it may increase environmental risks and reduce state oversight over essential public resources and services.
