Uruguay has received three offers for a school infrastructure project, the first education PPP in the country.

The three consortia which submitted bids are:

• Berkes, Saceem and Stiler (all from Uruguay)
• Ebital SA (Uruguay), Aldesa Construcciones SA (Spain) and Nirazeld SA (Spain)
• Consorcio Centros Educativos Primera Infancia (CEPI), formed by Basiney, Nelit and Conami (Uruguay)

The government expects to award the project before the end of the year.

As we reported in November 2016, Uruguay launched the tender for the development of more than 50 schools through the public private partnership (PPP) model.

The first call includes the development of 44 kindergartens and 15 family and childhood centers (Centros de Atención a la Infancia y la Familia, CAIF), with an initial investment of US$48.5 million.

According to Silvina Panizza,director of PPP Projects of the Ministry of Economy and Finance, this project is part of a major programme which comprises four levels: early childhood, initial education, primary education and secondary education, with an estimated total investment of US$432 million.

The programme includes the development of more than 200 PPP schools projects, including 165 schools for the National Public Education Administration (ANEP) which will be located in the following areas:

• 44 in Montevideo;
• 42 in Canelones, San José, Durazno, Flores, Florida, Colonia and Soriano;
• 47 in Artigas, Paysandú, Rivera, Salto, Río Negro and Tacuarembó:
• 32 in Cerro Largo, Lavalleja, Maldonado, Rocha and Treinta y Tres.

The second call was tendered in May and it included the development of 23 schools, 9 tech education centers and 10 sports centers, with a total investment of US$78 million. The third and the fourth are going to be launched in 2H17. 

The Schools PPP project - Package 1 is the second social infrastructure project launched in the country. The first one was a penitentiary center, awarded in 2014.