Bi-Oceanic Corridor Project Presented in Trinidad and Tobago.

During the Fifth Summit of the Americas held in Trinidad and Tobago between April 17-19, 2009, Eduardo Eurnekian chairmaster of Corporación América presented the Bi-Oceanic Corridor Project that will connect MERCOSUR to Asian markets.
Former Secretary of State and actual Special Advisory of Corporación América, Rafael Bielsa, was in charge of the presentation during the II Hemispheric Private Sector Forum held in Port of Spain as one of the Forums previous to the Summit. Bielsa was part of the panel “Largest Infrastructure Projects in the Americas “ with Inter-American Development Bank (IADB) President, Luis Alberto Moreno, and Corporación Andina de Fomento (CAF) President & CEO, Enrique García. IADB and CAF are both the main financiers of the project.
With an investment of U$3.000 million, the Bi-Oceanic Corridor will link, trough a broad gauge railroad system, the cities of Luján de Cuyo in Mendoza with Los Andes in the 5th Region of Chile. The 52 Km. tunnel will be built 2.300 meters above sea level and will be open 365 days a year.
“This project can be compared to the Suez and Panama Canals because it will be the first tunnel linking two oceans and five countries, including Uruguay, Brazil and Paraguay”, said Bielsa during his dissertation.
This tunnel is not only a door for MERCOSUR to international markets such as China, Australia and West of USA and Mexico, but will also allow Chile to gain access to European and African markets through the Buenos Aires Port.
Argentina and Chile exchange 7,5 million tons a year trough the actual border crossing, Cristo Redentor. This crossing is 3.200 meters above sea level, and stays closed for almost 2 months a year due to climate. Estimations calculate that in year 2020 these countries would reach, thanks to the Bi-Oceanic Corridor, a bilateral exchange of 20 million annual tons.
Already six companies integrate the holding that participate in the tunnel construction. The Brazilian construction company Odebrecht has lately joined the Chilean Interocéanica, the Argentinean José Cartellone Civil Constructions, the Spanish COMSA, and the Italian GEODATA.
As for the steps to follow, former Secretary of State Rafael Bielsa said that “the holding has signed memos of understanding and the initiative has been declared of national interest by both the Argentinean and Chilean governments”.

CAISA Issues Bonds to Remodel Airport.

Consorcio Aeropuertos Internacionales SA (CAISA), part of Corporación América, and their chairmaster, Eduardo Eurnekian, and concessionaire of Laguna del Sauce Airport in Punta del Este, will issue bonds for U$25 million to finance the above-mentioned airport’s remodeling project.

The bonds, which are being qualified by Fitch, will be denominated in US dollars. Ficus Capital, an investment banking and securities firm that offers quality advisory services, is the organizer of the operation.

The maturity of CAISA bonds will be ten-years, similar to the ones issued in April 2008 by Puerta del Sur –Carrasco’s Airport concessionaire and also part of Corporación América. The latter were earmarked to the construction of a new terminal. Along with the bonds, CAISA’s will have a trust fund to bring transparency to the operation.

Corporación América, which will administrate Punta del Este’s airport until 2019, bought CAISA in December 2007.

Laguna del Sauce airport’s concession includes the Free Shop and is the second that Corporación América manages in Uruguay, since they also control International Airport of Carrasco in Montevideo.

Corporación América, which is the main shareholder of Aeropuertos Argentina 2000, currently manages about thirty airports in Argentina as well as other terminals in the world, such as Guayaquil Airport in Ecuador, and Zvarnots Airport, in Armenia.

Former President Clinton’s lunch with Eduardo Eurnekian and Ernesto Gutiérrez Conte.

Former US President, Bill Clinton, arrived in Argentina, where he expounded upon Global Crisis and both countries –US and Argentina- challenges. Almost 1,000 people attended the conference that Clinton gave on behalf of the “Clinton Foundation”. Among the attendants, there were businessmen, Supreme Court members, politicians, diplomats, academicians, and high-level government employees.
But right before the conference, Clinton –who governed US between 1993 and 2001-, had lunch with a selected group of 20 businessmen with a strong presence from Argentina and Latin America. He shared table with Julio, Gerardo and Adrian Werthein (event organizers and owners of the insurance company La Caja), Eduardo Eurnekian (Corporación América Director), Ernesto Gutierrez Conte (Corporacion America and Aeropuertos Argentina 2000 CEO), Enrique Eskenazi (Petersen Group President), Jorge Brito (Banco Macro and Adeba President), Hugo Sigman (Elea y Bagó laboratories owner) Eduardo Elztain (IRSA Group President), and Juan Carlos Lopez Mena (Buquebús owner).
During lunch, Clinton showed his interest in the Argentinean legislative elections, although the global crisis was the topic that captured the conversation. After lunch Enrique Ezkenazi told, that former president Clinton “showed optimism about the future in relation with the economic crisis. Former President Clinton said that US and Europe are taking precautions to improve the situation”.
Jorge Brito said that Former President Clinton explained what his vision about the future of economy, US crisis and his effects in the world are, and that he assured that the worst part of the crisis has passed.
After Lunch, Bill Clinton walked toward the auditorium of the Hilton Hotel where, for almost 90 minutes, he spread the Clinton Global Initiative’s work, which is a project of the Clinton Foundation that brings together a community of global leaders, university students, and private citizens to identify and implement innovative solutions to the world's most pressing challenges, including poverty alleviation, climate change, global health, and education.
During the conference, in front of almost 1,000 people, former President said “the worst crisis seems to be over”. He also reminded the origins and the different stages that the crisis went trough, and he recognized that “We should have prevented the repossession hearings, but we didn’t”.
Later that night, when he shared dinner with Argentinean President Cristina Fernández and his husband, Nestor Kirchner; Buenos Aires Governor, Daniel Scioli; Secretary of State, Sergio Massa; Minister for Public Investment, Julio de Vido; businessmen and event organizers, Julio, Gerardo and Adrian Werthein; and Aeropuertos Argentina 2000 CEO, Ernesto Gutierrez Conte, Former President Clinton said how much he enjoys Argentina. He also praised US Ambassador’s Earl Wayne job in Argentina, , who is leaving Buenos Aires to hold his new diplomatic assignment in Afghanistan.

Fin del Mundo Winery: Corporación America’s new investment

Businessman Eduardo Eurnekian is diversifying his business, and this time he gets into winery commerce in Argentinean Patagonia.

With a U$50 million investment, Eurnekian Family and Viola Family became partners. The Violas own the winery since 1999.

Eduardo Eurnekian’s nephew, Matías Gainza Eurnekian, who at present is Unitec director, will be in front of the new family business. Unitec belongs to Corporación América and has a portion of land where cotton, cereals, and cows are produced in the northern Argentinean province of Chaco. Unitec also has a 300-hectare land in Armenia where Cognac is produced.

The total investment is earmarked to increase the winery potential, develop more premium lines, bring the winery’s products to new international markets, such as Italy and USA and consolidate the internal market as well . On the other hand, a touristic project is going to be developed with a winery new façade, new offices, bigger tasting rooms, a hotel and a restaurant.

Fin del Mundo Winery was born when the Violas planted the first vineyards in a deserted and wind swept portion of land. Ten years have passed since then, and today there are seven wineries in San Patricio del Chañar, a region located only 50 Km. to the north of Neuquén City.

In spite of the above, Fin del Mundo is not only the pioneer but also the most important winery in the southern wine route. The winery stands in an 870-hectare portion of land and produces 8 million liters of wine a year. Fin del Mundo is equipped with state-of-the-art technology: the wine is produced in 200 stainless steel tanks with temperature control for fermentation, 2200 French and American oak casks, 10 oak barrels with temperature control, and 1000 concrete sinks for conservation.

Fin del Mundo succeeded to insert the brand into the Argentinean market since the first production of the winery, in 2003. One year later it started to export to several countries, USA and Canada being the most important buyers. Today, Fin del Mundo exports its production to 30 countries.

The winery will continue to seek advice from Michel Rolland, the legendary expert in wines who is, since 2004, Fin del Mundo’s consultant.

Neuquén Province is not new to Eduardo Eurnekian, who had already installed in the region through Aeropuertos del Neuquén, the concessionaire of Neuquén City’s airport. Regarding wine business, Eurnekian has participated in wine entrepreneurships in Armenia and Morocco in the last ten years.

Remodeling of the Córdoba International Airport.

Eduardo Eurnekian with Aeropuertos Argentina 2000 has embarked on a process to modernize, convert, and expand the existing airport infrastructure, with the ultimate goal of connecting the largest number of cities possible through an efficient airport network. This is the reason for the $5.3 million investment earmarked for construction of a new meteorological station and a new beacon system and for remodeling the electrical substations at the International Airport of Córdoba Ambrosio Taravella.
The new meteorological station will cost a total of $3.6 million and consist of the construction of a 160-square meter building, a 70-square meter storehouse, a meteorological observation camp, a remote meteorological station, observation instruments, and access roads.
This new meteorological station will replace the existing one, where hangars will be built in the near future.
The new beacon system requires an investment of $1.7 million. This work includes new circuits, replacement of isolation transformers and runway lightning. The electrical substation will be remodeled as well. New electrical equipment, voltage transformers, and a power cable to feed the new meteorological station will be built.
The remodeling process will last seven months, during which time the airport will be open and working normally.
This new stage in the remodeling process is part of the Master Plan that Aeropuertos Argentina 2000 designed for Córdoba’s Airport. Last year, the Company earmarked $15 million to rebuild 6,700-sqaure meters of tarmac.
Cordoba’s Airport was reopened in May 2006 after a remodeling plan that required an investment of $50 million. Due to those works, the airport’s annual traffic grew from 1.1 million to 2.4 million people.

Eduardo Eurnekian, buys The Conversebank.

Not that this matters to the international audience, but Eduardo Eurnekian - who happens to be the businessman in question - already operates Zvartnots Airport.

The press service of the bank reports that the new owner intends to continue the bank's normal activities and upgrade the quality of services. It will not be difficult to make the Conversebank Armenia's best bank because a number of international organizations have recognized it as one of the leading banks in the country, Eurnekian said.

Eurnekian's strategic policy will be aimed at promoting business development in Armenia, creating new jobs, applying up-to-date technologies and ensuring the bank's long-term development.

The press release aside, we may be witnessing the emergence of a new businessman in Yerevan. Let's see if that prediction comes true.

New Aqueduct Brings Drinking Water to Villages in Chaco.

Unitec Agro, the Agro industrial Business Company that is part of Corporación América whos Chairmaster is Eduardo Eurnekian, is ready to inaugurate an aqueduct in the northern province of Chaco.
U$ 40 million have been invested in the 273 Km. of canals that are going to be constructed. As well as being used for irrigation, the aqueduct will bring water to several villages in the region. So, as soon as the aqueduct begins to operate, the villages of Laguna Limpia, Ciervo Petizo, Presidencia Roca, Capitán Solari and Las Garcitas, will have a supply of drinking water coming from the Bermejo River.
Chaco Province Governor, Jorge Capitanich, visited the aqueduct with a group of Moroccan businessmen and government employees. The Governor said to the press that this aqueduct “will boost agricultural business and improve human lives by bringing drinking water to many people”.
Minister of Production, Aziz Akhannouch, headed the Moroccan delegation that arrived to Chaco who are interested in local production, particularly in cotton cultivation and stockbreeding genetics. This is the reason why they visited Unitec Agro, where they observed the crops, the cattle, and the cotton plantations. “It is a very important visit for us, we could witness how one of the biggest farms in Argentina works, and we are taking back lots of important information, such as water treatment. “, said the African Minister.
Unitec Agro achieved a vertiginous development thanks to the vision of its leaders, who have focused on investigation, expansion, international presence and diversification activities, all of which, added to the spirit of its employees -a group of interdisciplinary professionals- turned a simple agro industrial project into an enterprising group.
Following its international expansion policies, Unitec Agro has recently opened a new Company in Morocco, “Lands of Morocco”, that will basically exploit Moroccan farmlands. Unitec Agro’s main objective is to set up in the Maghreb (The North African Common Market) to develop different business lines.

Biography of Eduardo Eurnekian.

Eduardo Eurnekian was born to immigrants from Armenia, in 1933. His family established a textile manufacturer which prospered with the Argentine economy and became an important supplier to international sporting apparel firm Puma; but which, like many Argentine tectile makers, nearly collapsed after Economy Minister José Alfredo Martínez de Hoz's round of free trade and deregulatory policies led to a severe crisis, in 1981.

The Eurnekian family reportedly borrowed heavily from the former Argentine small business lender, BANADE, and in 1988, Eduardo Eurnekian purchased "Cablevisión S.A," then a failing local cable tv station. His investment became increasingly lucrative following Economy Minister Domingo Cavallo's implementation of the Convertibility Plan in 1991, which brought financial and price stability to Argentina during the 1990s. Eurnekian in 1994 sold a 51% stake in Cablevision S.A. (by then Argentina's second-largest cable operator), to Tele-Communications Inc. for US$350 million and in 1997, netted US$320 million by selling most of his remaining shares to local investment giant CEI Citicorp Holdings SA.

On December 17, 2001, Eurnekian's Corporación América signed a 30-year concession agreement with the Armenian government for the management of operations of Zvartnots International Airport, which is Armenia's largest airport[2]. The company launched the construction of a new terminal which brought the airport into conformity with international standards. The total cost of the project was more than $50 million.

Eurnekian also unveiled plans to invest millions of dollars into Armenia's agribusiness sector as he set up a joint venture with a local firm. Senior executives from Tierras de Armenia, a Yerevan-based company belonging to Eurnekian, and the Max Group (owned by Harutiun Pambukian, a parliamentarian close to former President Robert Kocharian), reported a US$25 million joint venture to develop 60 km2 (24 mi2) of arid land in the southern Armavir region into fruit orchards and a fruit processing plant.

Eurnekian has built an almost $1 billion media empire since the early 1990s and is now the majority owner of a consortium operating 76 airports worldwide, mostly across Argentina and elsewhere in South America as well as in Armenia. He also owns 2,000 square kilometres of land and food processing factories in northern Argentina. He has been awarded as the "Business Man of the year" in 1995. In 1999 he received in Italy the "Leonardo Award", given to the foreign businessman of the year. He also received the highest awards in Armenia for his activities.

He also held controlling interest in "América TV", four radio stations and a Buenos Aires financial daily, El Cronista. "Aeropuertos Argentina 2000," a consortium led by Eurnekian won a 30-year concession in 1998 to run 33 of the Argentina's main airports. He also bought the Howard Johnson's master franchise in Argentina from Cendant, and invested in a regional airline company, LAPA.