Three foreign companies have submitted bids for the contract to dredge and operate Argentina's Parana River, a vital waterway for the country's agricultural exports, Argentine Economy Minister Luis Caputo announced on Friday.
The bid opening comes two months after Argentina, a major global food exporter, launched the tender.
"Three bidders have come forward. All are 100 per cent privately-owned companies of international origin, which are prepared to invest an estimated $10 billion in our country over the next 25 years," Caputo said in a post on social media.
The economy ministry confirmed in a statement that the participating companies were Belgium's Jan De Nul and DEME, in addition to Brazil's DTA Engenharia. The ministry said their involvement underscores international interest in Argentina's logistical infrastructure.
The terms of the tender explicitly barred state-owned companies from other countries, thereby preventing bids from Chinese firms.
Argentina's grain exporters' chamber CIARA-CEC, which collaborated with the government on the bidding specifications, has indicated that this new tender will deepen the Parana River to 40 feet, an increase from its current level of 34 feet.
Argentina is the world's leading exporter of soybean oil and meal, and the third-largest exporter of corn.
Over 80 per cent of Argentina's agricultural and agro-industrial exports depart the country via the Parana River, flowing from the Rosario agro-industrial hub and surrounding areas to the South Atlantic Ocean. CIARA-CEC anticipates that the contract will be awarded in May.
(Reporting by Maximilian Heath; Editing by Mark Porter)