The Minister of the Interior, Edward of Peterand its peer from Economics, Martin Guzmanheaded this afternoon at Government House the act of signing the Austral Development Trust, with the Governor of Tierra del Fuego, Gustavo Melellato carry out an infrastructure works plan in the Patagonian province.
The trust was signed between the National State, through the Ministries of the Interior and Economy; the province of Tierra del Fuego, Antarctica and South Atlantic Islands; and the Investment and Foreign Trade Bank (BICE) Trusts.
The Austral Development Trust is an agreement to promote investment and development in the Patagonian province.
In this framework, de Pedro celebrated the signing of this agreement to finance works, “which promotes a very important idea of the president Alberto Fernandez linked to roots, that the citizens who are born in Tierra del Fuego can project themselves, develop and live there”.
We fulfill a historical debt with Tierra del Fuego, the southernmost territory of our country. We launched the Trust to promote development with infrastructure. A reality that we signed today together with the minister @Martin_M_Guzman and the governor @gustavomelella. pic.twitter.com/aYFxsxIHoR
– Wado de Pedro ?? (@wadodecorrido) May 16, 2022
The meeting was also attended by the Secretary of Provinces of the Ministry of the Interior, Silvina Batakis; the president of BICE Trusts, Jorge Tanus; and provincial legislators Monica AcostaOh Emmanuel Trentineither.
The head of the Interior portfolio also emphasized that this type of agreement brings to the forefront “the importance of geopolitics, the importance that the Antarctica region and the South Atlantic islands have for Argentina“, and remarked that “in addition to generating employment, development and roots in Tierra del Fuegothis type of agreement generates sovereignty over Antarctica and the South Atlantic Islands, with which all the investment that can be made in Tierra del Fuego is not only a specific benefit for the workers”.
“It also aims to enhance the Homeland and strengthen the flame of memory on the Malvinas Islandson which we are going to continue claiming our sovereigntyand especially after 40 years since the South Atlantic War. It also bases our claim to sovereignty over Antarctica, which is a topic of permanent discussion and tension in many international forums,” added De Pedro.
“This policy contributes to the construction of a country that has an economy with opportunities better distributed throughout the entire federal territory, and at the same time betting on what is productive.”Martin Guzman
For his part, Guzmán celebrated the signing of the agreement to promote investment and development of Tierra del Fuego, stating that “it means more development for the economy.
“When we see that these funds are being invested in road works, infrastructure, hospitals, in energy, it is something that I particularly celebrate, given the important opportunities that the province has and that the whole country faces” in terms of energy development, the minister pointed out. .
“This policy contributes to the construction of a country that has an economy with orbetter distributed opportunities throughout the entire federal territory, and at the same time betting on what is productive,” said Guzmán, emphasizing that “work and production are the axes” of the Government “and it is the path” that they undertook on December 10, 2019.
Melella -in dialogue with accredited journalists at Government House- recalled that “during the government of Fabiana Rios in Tierra del Fuego and Cristina Fernandez de Kirchnerin the Nation, there was a discussion about the offshore royalties of the gas basin” of that district, because these undertakings used the infrastructure of the province.
And that the trust was the resolution of that issue “so that those funds were allocated to development works” in Tierra del Fuego.
“Between 2015 and 2019, the national and provincial governments paralyzed it, emptied it” into the trusthe underlined.
Melella noted that the signing of this agreement is “one of the five things that we had asked the President (Alberto Fernández) for the province.”
“And today the trust agreement was signed with BICE, which is the one that guarantees the funds, and the list of works in the province was given.” he added.
?? We signed the contract for the financing of the “Trust for Austral Development” together with the Minister of the Interior of the Nation, @wadodecorridothe Minister of Economy, @Martin_M_Guzman and the president of the Investment and Foreign Trade Bank, Jorge Miguel Tanús. pic.twitter.com/cAMHL8Bdqi
– Gustavo Melella (@gustavomelella) May 16, 2022
Providing details of the understanding, the provincial president said that “with affected works, in the first two years the funds are placed by the national government” and after that period the province takes over.
“Today works like the ushuai hospitala, a work that has been paralyzed for a long time; a gas pipeline project in Rio Grande,” he said.
Melella stated that “Tierra del Fuego is the second gas basin in the country but today there is not much feasibility for domestic gas, the development for Tolhuin and Ushuaia, and with this work the feasibility of the necessary gas is given; and then energy works that the province needs.
The provincial president highlighted the presence of BICE in the trust, since the state entity will be the guarantee that “the funds are there and also the guarantee of the transparency of the use of the funds.”
Finally, Melella indicated that in Tierra del Fuego “a lot of work is being done with two companies, with two very large investments for green hydrogen.”
