Argentina's government has recommended awarding a major dredging bid in the country to Belgian dredging company Jan De Nul and its local partner Servimagnus, the Economy Ministry said.
Back in May, US House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Rep. Brian Mast warned about "Chinese malign influence" in the bid for the major contract in Argentina, while Jan De Nul and Servimagnus denied Chinese ties.
The recommendation is about the concession to dredge and maintain the Parana River, which carries 80 per cent of the country's trade.
The ministry also recommended in a statement released late Thursday to reject a bid from fellow Belgian company DEME.
Jan de Nul-Servimagnus scored 66.20 points in the technical evaluation stages, against 42.14 for DEME. Both firms submitted identical tariffs, earning the maximum score on the economic component, the statement added.
Brazilian firm DTA Engenharia was declared inadmissible for failing to submit the required bid-maintenance guarantee.
A seven-day window for formal challenges to the recommendation has now opened before a final award.
"The award will conclude the process and break the deadlock on the necessary construction work on the waterway," the ministry added.
The waterway, a 3,400-kilometre natural river transport corridor that runs along the Parana and Paraguay rivers, is key to the transport of soya beans that Argentina imports for the production of oil and meal.
(Reporting by Lucila Sigal, Writing by Aida Pelaez-Fernandez, Editing by Leila Miller)
