At the initiative of the Argentine government and following an international invitation to tender, Aguas Argentinas came into being on 1st May 1993 to take up two challenges:

• overcoming the difficult situation faced by the potable water and sanitation infrastructure and services of the city of Buenos Aires, at that time managed by the state via the company Obras Sanitarias de la Nación,

• and extension of these services to the populations not served.

Following the economic crisis at the end of 2001, and after more than four years of unsuccessful negotiations to restore the economic and financial balance of the contract, affected by a 200% currency devaluation and inflation by more than 100%, the Argentine government finally decided on 21 March 2006 to terminate the concession contract.

The same day, the government regained control of a thoroughly modernised company, managed in accordance with international standards, whose personnel had received 1 million hours' training and whose quality of service levels were among the best in Argentina.

In 13 years of activity, despite countless difficulties due to the economic situation, Aguas Argentinas signed up 2 million inhabitants to its potable water services and 1 million inhabitants to its sanitation services.A special programme was carried out to enable the poorest districts to obtain access to potable water services, thanks to a participatory management model. This model has since been carried over and successfully extended to other emerging countries.

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