Public service concessions are, in theory, a mechanism for the private sector to do well what the government does poorly. In practice, these are monopolies that, for a service, sometimes mediocre, take excess money from the people and put it in private pockets, which cannot be done without the permission, passive or active, of politicians. However, the term of these (4-8 years) is shorter than the typical concession term (10-20 years), which makes it easier for them to continue gravitating after their functions in an area where millions are at stake annually: 110 in 3 road concessions, 100 airport, 180 water, 55 garbage, 60 port, 70 Posorje. Total: 1.6 million per day (only in Guayas, although the money from the port goes to Quito and there they manage the biggest: oil, cell phones, internet and other mines), enough money to corrupt (almost) everyone.

Campo Amistad already has a feasibility report and a new expression of interest, but is still in limbo

The state must urgently redefine the terms of concessions, and the first step is to publish all concession contracts and their extensions for a deeper and transparent analysis. Then make responsibility directly to the user mandatory, because control bodies are appointed by politicians. For example, each toll booth can display local and total revenue online. And the costs should be public because these are not just any private companies, but monopolies where the level of service and the bills are of public interest.

TPM confirms that it has submitted a proposal to the Manta Port Authority for the management of the fishing and cabotage terminal

The term is one of the most sensitive terms in concessions and, although some broke records (Posorje 50 years), others started from the term and then extended it, almost secretly, in terms different from the original ones.

As for the roads, all three had a term of 20 years. But in two of them (which expired in 2019) before the operation even started, the authorities had already changed the terms, reducing the required investment by half and leaving their income intact. They are guaranteed a significant percentage of the profit achieved with a certain turnover projection. In reality, it more than doubled, but they were paid millions in damages, allegedly due to a lack of margin. They subsequently extended the concession to 25 years, and the Puente Alterno Norte to 35, not realizing that this concession is subordinate to the global one. And they even ceded 4% of tolls that according to the original contract belonged to the County (therefore, public funds), turning a concession into a concession.

The concessions for blocks 16 and 67 and OCP, whose contracts expire in 2022 and 2023, will have different fates.

The airport concession was awarded in 2004 and expired in 2015, in a super-beneficial scheme for the city, as it would receive 50% of gross revenue, five times more than Quito. It was a great innovation, because the municipal share did not depend on the costs (real or fictitious) that the concessionaire could state. However, in 2007, the concession was extended until 2019, and since then profitability calculated on the basis of the costs reported by the concessionaire has been introduced as a key indicator of the extension. There is butter in extensions, its future regulation deserves another article. (OR)