Battle for Argentine contract between Belgian dredging firms reaches boiling point: ‘Chinese influence’

The showdown between the Belgian dredging firms Jan De Nul and DEME over a massive contract in Argentina is becoming increasingly fierce. According to Reuters, Brian Mast, chairman of the US House Foreign Affairs Committee, has even warned of “Chinese malign influence”.

The Belgian maritime companies Jan De Nul and DEME are both still in the running for the Argentine government’s tender to further dredge the Paraná River, a major economic artery, in order to improve navigation on the river. This is arguably one of the largest dredging contracts in history – worth about ten billion dollars.

A winner will not be announced until the coming weeks, but Jan De Nul’s proposal is currently the favourite. Jan De Nul has more experience in the region and has, moreover, been maintaining the Paraná River for decades.

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However, Brian Mast, chairman of the US House Foreign Affairs Committee, is now accusing Jan De Nul of having “deep and ongoing” ties with Chinese state-owned enterprises through its Argentine partner Servimagnus SA. Mast made his allegations in a letter addressed to the US Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, to draw his attention to “the worrying development regarding Chinese malign influence”.

Mast also claims that Beijing is violating a key condition of the tender. That condition is that state-owned enterprises are excluded from bidding – which is seen as an attempt to block Chinese participation. “Awarding the contract to Jan de Nul would enable China to circumvent that choice through a private-sector proxy,” writes Mast.

Jan De Nul describes the allegations regarding links to China during the bidding ‌process as "absolutely false and malicious". Its Argentine partner Servimagnus has already stated that it has collaborated with CCCC Shanghai Dredging Co. in the past, but that it currently has no ties with that company, nor with any other Chinese state-owned enterprises. According to Reuters, Jan De Nul also pointed out that it is DEME itself that has included a Chinese supplier in the contract – for the security cameras.

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It was also recently revealed that DEME, via its US partners, had lodged a complaint with the White House regarding the conduct of the tender process. Those partners (Great Lakes and the financial firms KKR and Clear Street Group, ed.) claimed that the tender had been tailor-made for Jan De Nul.

In a response to Belga, DEME expressed itself diplomatically. The company speaks of “problems with a fair tender process”. In doing so, the company is hinting, among other things, at the fact that, should one wish to lodge an objection regarding the tender process, one must pay a deposit of ten million dollars. “That raises questions,” it says.

According to analysts, the whole debate highlights just how fierce the battle for influence in South America between China and the US is today. The former, more left-wing governments in Argentina were long seen as anti-American and more sympathetic to China. The current right-wing president, Javier Milei, is, however, a loyal ally of president Donald Trump. It remains to be seen how Milei will factor these warnings into his assessment of the dredging contract.

^{#FlandersNewsService | Zarate port on the banks of the Parana river, in Buenos Aires province © PHOTO Luis ROBAYO / AFP}