The Proposed Buenos Aires-Colonia Bridge Project

Abstract

The governments of Argentina and Uruguay have proposed the implementation of the Buenos Aires-Colonia bridge project in the form of a build-operate-transfer (BOT) concession. Highway projects like this one have acquired a poor reputation, as many have failed. This article reviews the measures taken by both governments to maximize the projects likelihood of success. Many of these measures were designed from lessons learned on previous projects and address the broad categories of causes for project failure: legal documentation, cost and schedule overruns, revenue shortfalls, and public opposition.