As part of the Federal Logistics Strategy, promoted over the past five years by the Federal Investment Council (CFI) together with the provinces, the second Federal Logistics Summit was held. Participants included Governors Axel Kicillof (Buenos Aires), Ignacio Torres (Chubut), Martín Llaryora (Córdoba), Rogelio Frigerio (Entre Ríos), Carlos Sadir (Jujuy), Alberto Weretilneck (Río Negro), Marcelo Orrego (San Juan) and Elías Suárez (Santiago del Estero), as well as national government officials and representatives of the country’s leading companies.
By Panorama Minero
The event provided an opportunity to advance a common agenda between the public and private sectors for planning strategic investments. Participants agreed that the discussions “reaffirm the importance of long-term strategic planning and multisectoral coordination processes”.
“In this regard, joint efforts between the provinces, the CFI and private sector stakeholders are essential to defining a shared roadmap that will strengthen value chains, improve territorial integration and consolidate competitive logistics for federal development,” the CFI stated.
The event opened with a panel featuring CFI Secretary-General Ignacio Lamothe and the governors of Buenos Aires, Córdoba, Entre Ríos and Santiago del Estero. They outlined the main infrastructure and connectivity challenges, focusing on cooperation between the public sector and companies involved in production and transport.
This was followed by the panel “The Speed That Creates Value”, featuring representatives of DHL, Aeropuertos Argentina 2000, Mercado Libre, Andreani and FedEx.
Later, the discussion “Argentine Agribusiness: Logistics to Reach the World” brought together the Governor of Entre Ríos and representatives of Louis Dreyfus Company, Semillas Basso, the International Seed Federation and the Association of Argentine Cooperatives (ACA).
The panel “Hydrocarbons: Logistics for the Energy Future” featured presentations by the governors of Chubut and Río Negro, alongside executives from Pan American Energy (PAE), Tecpetrol and YPF.
The Argentine Business Logistics Association (ARLOG) then delivered the presentation “Logistics as an Ecosystem”, followed by the panel “Logistics Challenges for the Mining Value Chain”, which brought together the governors of Jujuy and San Juan and business representatives from Rio Tinto, Glencore, Holcim Argentina and Techint.
The event concluded with the panel “Logistics Without Bottlenecks”, featuring Chief of Cabinet Diego Santilli, Minister of Deregulation and State Transformation Federico Sturzenegger, and CFI Secretary-General Ignacio Lamothe.
“San Juan is 73% mountainous. Of Argentina’s ten copper projects, six are in San Juan. A large part of what lies ahead is located in the province, and therefore requires us to have better infrastructure. We are not waiting for the problem to resolve itself; we have to take action and find solutions.
“We have projections for the next 20 years indicating that millions of trucks will be travelling through the province. I would even say one heavy-duty truck every 46 seconds. So, we have to prepare for that situation.
“For mining to exist, you need roads, you need energy and, of course, you need to work every day to ensure there is social commitment. I no longer talk about a social licence, but rather social commitment, so that people genuinely believe in what we are doing,” said San Juan Governor Marcelo Orrego.
For his part, Buenos Aires Governor Axel Kicillof highlighted that logistics plays a fundamental role in national development and “therefore cannot be approached exclusively by the State or solely by the private sector: it requires effective and committed coordination among all stakeholders”.
According to Governor Llaryora, “Córdoba’s distinguishing advantage is its infrastructure”.
“The province not only has an extensive gas distribution network; its roads, for example, are essential routes that connect production with destinations that are difficult to access, strengthening industry and trade,” he stated.
He added that “the planning and development of these infrastructure works are also essential to strengthening regional economies, facilitating the establishment of companies and expanding employment opportunities”.
