Argentina. The national government put up for sale 17 properties located in the city of Buenos Aires and the Province to raise funds for the Treasury. The measure was ordered through Decree 952/2016 of President Mauricio Macri and published this Monday in the Official Gazette.
The regulation authorized the State Property Administration Agency to sell 17 plots of land and real estate, 13 of which are located in the Capital and the other four in La Matanza, San Isidro, La Plata and Mar del Plata.
"The operations that are promoted will not only constitute a source of income for the National Treasury, but will also generate a boost in the economy by reactivating various productive activities, which will result in the improvement of the living conditions of the population," say the foundations of the decree.
Some of these properties are in disuse, while others have overdue concessions and royalties much lower than market values. There are also cases of buildings or land that are used for the development of activities that have nothing to do with the functions of the State, such as the rental of football fields or the operation of private parking lots, explained the head of the AABE, Ramón Lanús.
The official warned that for the State it is "highly inefficient that there is a soccer field in a place that could well be used for another purpose, such as housing construction, which is an activity that generates direct and indirect employment."
One of the assets whose sale is authorized is a property of 4,700 square meters, in the Buenos Aires neighborhood of Palermo, which is currently used by a company that rents 5-a-side soccer fields and that has the concession expired. The rent you pay is $22,000 per month ($1,482), even though an official appraisal estimated the lease amount should be $116,000 a month ($7,800).
"The properties will be auctioned through Banco Ciudad from September and the proceeds will go to the National Treasury," Lanús said.
