Road Concessions: Lessons Learned from the Experience of Four Countries

The objective of this paper is to analyze some issues and challenges related to private toll road developments in Latin American countries and explore new schemes to mitigate some problems that often appear in road concessions. The paper is illustrated with the regulations of four contries and four concession contracts. The concessions are Acceso Norte to Buenos Aires in Argentina, El Cortijo-el Vino in Colombia, Talca-Chillán in Chile, and Ruta Interbalnearia between Montevideo y Punta del Este in Uruguay. Included is a discussion of the legal framework for private sector involvement in road services, the features of concessionaires, the criteria for selecting proposals, main risks of toll roads, public guarantees and contributions in concession contracts, and financial issues of concessionaire companies.