The Minister of the Interior, Wado de Pedro, and his Public Works counterpart, Gabriel Katopodis, headed Reconquista, Santa Fe, together with the governors of Santa Fe, Omar Perotti; from Chaco, Jorge Capitanich, and from Santiago del Estero, Gerardo Zamora, a working meeting for the Submeridional Lowlands Regionwith the aim of continuing to advance in agree on priority projects to put in value and convert around one and a half million hectares on productive land.
During the meeting, the Minister of the Interior reaffirmed “the will of the national government to continue working every day for a federal Argentina” and to continue “betting on purchasing power, betting on job creation, betting on investment and the increase in production” while pondering the synergy “that is produced when the field and industry agree and even more so when they summon science and technology to see how that productive matrix can be strengthened and increased”.
According to Pedro’s minister after the work meeting held at the headquarters of the Rural Society of Reconquest, for the national government “to advance in the resolution of this structural problem is central to boosting the sector and making one and a half million hectares productive in one of the agricultural production areas most important in Argentina”.
De Pedro also highlighted the work of the governors that “so bilateral and jointly with the National government are finding consensual solutions to problems that belong to all Argentines and that have to do with increasing the happiness of our people through work” and stressed that “despite the pandemic, despite everything, we were able to achieve by decision of the President and Vice President, budgets to start the works, the will and the decision to start the strategic plan”.
For his part, the Minister of Public Works, Gabriel Katopodis, indicated that progress is being made “in a work agenda between the Ministry of the Interior and the Ministry of Public Works very accurate and very clear” and that “this is a road and a path of realization of projectsmore of doing than saying, with works that are already underway and with the political will of all the actors so that this basin really becomes a productive development enclave for the three provinces”.
The national government and the provinces want the Submeridional Lowlandsan extension of 4 million hectares and that covers the productive area of the three provinces, can have an intelligent management of water and avoid floods or droughts depending on the time of year, and at the same time develop the productive potential of the area.
The governor of Chaco, Jorge Capitanich, indicated that the meeting could be “summarized in three words: unity, cooperation and action” and praised the unity that “has allowed us to travel the path of cooperation, essential to achieve some initiatives.”
“This project has to do with giving the entire area the possibility of unfolding the potential it has” indicated the governor of Santa Fe, Omar Perotti, and maintained that “a different reality begins to materialize that has to do with the roads, with the electrical infrastructure, with the sanitary infrastructure, that has to do with the improvement of the links between the neighboring provinces”.
In his turn, Gerardo Zamora, governor of Santiago del Estero, celebrated “the seriousness of work” done so far and the importance of “generating this large number of hectares of this Basin to generate production and value added to production to be able to export not only products but also export Argentine work”.
Specifically, the Nation will start executing the Master Plan with an estimated term of 18 months. The three provinces, the Federal Investment Council (CFI), and the interior and public works ministries will play the role of supervising progress.
In parallel, Chaco and Santiago del Estero advance with the presentation of the necessary documentation for the execution of the water works agreed upon in the CIRHBAS, in charge of the Ministry of Public Works: 2 works in execution in Chaco, with estimated completion in June 2022 ($92 million); 6 works were approved in Chaco ($187 million); 46 works are pending in the three provinces involved, with different observations and degrees of progress ($37.6 billion).
The meeting was also attended by the mayor of the city of Reconquista, Amadeo Vallejos; the Secretary of Provinces, Silvina Batakis; the Undersecretary of Policies for Development with Regional Equity, Martin Pollera; the Secretary of Infrastructure and Water Policies, Fernando Zarate and the President of the INA, Juan Carlos Bertoni.
