# Secretariat of Public Works (Argentina)

The Secretariat of Public Works (Spanish: Secretaría de Obras Públicas, formerly Ministry of Public Works) of Argentina is a secretariat and former ministry of the national executive power that oversaw and advised on the elaboration and maintenance of roadways, urban and hydraulic infrastructure and other types of public works.
From 2003 to 2015 it was known as the Ministry of Federal Planning, Public Investment and Services; it was reorganized as a secretariat of the Interior Ministry during the 2015–2019 presidency of Mauricio Macri, and reinstated as a ministry with its original name in 2019 under President Alberto Fernández.
The ministry was dissolved following a presidential decree from President Javier Milei, and turned into a secretariat, controlled by the Ministry of Economy.

## Attributions

As established by the ruling Ley de Ministerios ("Ministries Law"), adopted in December 2019, the Ministry of Public Works was reinstated (from having previously been part of the Interior Ministry's portfolio) due to the "importance of counting with a centralized organ to co-ordinate the national government's policy on public works and hydraulic infrastructure.
The Ministry's responsibilities and attributions are outlined in Article 21 of the current law, which states that, among others, it is within the ministry's competence overseeing the design and execution of plans and programs pertaining to public works and infrastructure on an international, national, regional, provincial and municipal level; co-ordinating these policies alongside the provincial governments and the government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, intervening in the construction and fiscalization of transport (roads, airports and sea and river ports) and hydraulic infrastructure; and co-ordinating and executing the necessary public works to ensure civil protection of Argentina's inhabitants, as well as creating and upkeeping policies and regulations on public services within the competent areas, among others.

### Structure and dependencies

As of 2019 the Ministry of Public Works is organized into the following centralized dependencies:
* Secretariat of Administrative Management (Secretaría de Gestión Administrativa)
* Secretariat of Public Works (Secretaría de Obras Públicas)
** Undersecretariat of Planning and Territorial Co-ordination for Public Works (Subsecretaría de Planificación y Coordinación Territorial de la Obra Pública)
** Undersecretariat of Public Works Execution (Subsecretaría de Ejecución de Obra Pública)
* Secretariat of Hydraulic Infrastructure and Policy (Secretaría de Infraestructura y Política Hídrica)
** Undersecretariat of Hydraulic Works (Subsecretaría de Obras Hidráulicas)
** Undersecretariat of Operational Management for Hydraulic Projects (Subsecretaría de Gestión Operativa de Proyectos Hídricos)
Additionally, a number of decentralized dependencies also report to the Ministry of Public Works, including the National Directorate of Roads (DNV), the National Hydraulic Works and Sanitation Authority (ENOHSA), the National Water Institute (INA), the National Institute of Seismic Prevention (INPRES), the National Regulatory Dam Safety Authority (ORSEP). Several state-owned enterprises are also overseen by the Ministry of Public Works, such as AySA and ACUMAR, the Matanza–Riachuelo River Basin Authority.

## Headquarters

The Secretariat is headquartered in the Palacio de Hacienda ("Palace of the Treasury"), located in the Monserrat barrio of Buenos Aires, which has historically housed the Ministry of Economy (formerly known as the Ministry of the Treasury) as well as other ministerial portfolios such as transport and production. The building was built in two stages from 1937 to 1950 and stands on Hipólito Yrigoyen street, across from the emblematic Plaza de Mayo square and the Casa Rosada, seat of the Presidency.
From 1936 to 1991 the Ministry of Public Works was housed in the iconic Ministry of Public Works Building (Edificio del Ministerio de Obras Públicas), located on 9 de Julio Avenue in downtown Buenos Aires, which is famous for its large steel image of Eva Perón. Nowadays the building houses the Health Ministry, but it is still sometimes known by its former name.

## List of ministers and secretaries

| No. | Minister | Party | Term | President |
| Ministry of Public Works (1898–1958) |||||||
| 1 | Emilio Civit | National Autonomist Party | 12 October 1898 – 1904 | Julio Argentino Roca |
| 2 | Wenceslao Escalante | National Autonomist Party | 1904 – 12 October 1904 | Julio Argentino Roca |
| 3 | Adolfo Orma | National Autonomist Party | 12 October 1904 – 12 March 1906 | Manuel Quintana |
| 4 | Miguel Tedín | Independent | 14 March 1906 – 12 July 1907 | José Figueroa Alcorta |
| 5 | Carlos Maschwitz | Independent | 12 July 1907 – 4 November 1907 | José Figueroa Alcorta |
| 6 | Ezequiel Ramos Mexía | National Autonomist Party | 4 November 1907 – 16 July 1913 | José Figueroa Alcorta |
| 6 | Ezequiel Ramos Mexía | National Autonomist Party | 4 November 1907 – 16 July 1913 | Roque Sáenz Peña |
| 7 | Carlos Meyer Pellegrini | Independent | 21 July 1913 – 16 February 1914 | Roque Sáenz Peña |
| 8 | Manuel Moyano | Independent | 16 February 1914 – 12 October 1916 | Roque Sáenz Peña |
| 8 | Manuel Moyano | Independent | 16 February 1914 – 12 October 1916 | Victorino de la Plaza |
| 9 | Pablo Torello | Radical Civic Union | 12 October 1916 – 12 October 1922 | Hipólito Yrigoyen |
| 10 | Eufrasio Loza | Radical Civic Union | 12 October 1922 – 13 January 1925 | Marcelo T. de Alvear |
| 11 | Roberto M. Ortiz | Radical Civic Union | 13 January 1925 – 12 October 1928 | Marcelo T. de Alvear |
| 12 | José Benjamín Ábalos | Radical Civic Union | 12 October 1928 – 6 September 1930 | Hipólito Yrigoyen |
| 13 | Octavio Sergio Pico | Radical Civic Union | 6 de septiembre de 1930 – 16 de abril de 1931 | José Félix Uriburu |
| 14 | Pablo Calatayud | Radical Civic Union | 17 April 1931 – 20 February 1932 | José Félix Uriburu |
| 15 | Manuel Ramón Alvarado | National Democratic Party | 20 February 1932 – 1936 | Agustín Pedro Justo |
| 16 | Eleazar Videla | Independent (Military) | 1936 – 20 February 1938 | Agustín Pedro Justo |
| 17 | Manuel Ramón Alvarado | National Democratic Party | 20 February 1938 – 8 March 1940 | Roberto M. Ortiz |
| 18 | Luis Alberto Barberis | National Democratic Party | 8 March 1940 – 2 September 1940 | Roberto M. Ortiz |
| 19 | Salvador Oría | Radical Civic Union | 2 September 1940 – 4 June 1943 | Roberto M. Ortiz |
| 19 | Salvador Oría | Radical Civic Union | 2 September 1940 – 4 June 1943 | Ramón Castillo |
| 20 | Ismael Galíndez | Independent (Military) | 7 June 1943 – 14 October 1943 | Pedro Pablo Ramírez |
| 21 | Ricardo A. Vago | Independent (Military) | 14 October 1943 – 24 February 1944 | Pedro Pablo Ramírez |
| 22 | Juan Pistarini | Independent (Military) | 24 February 1944 – 4 June 1952 | Pedro Pablo Ramírez |
| 22 | Juan Pistarini | Independent (Military) | 24 February 1944 – 4 June 1952 | Edelmiro Julián Farrell |
| 22 | Juan Pistarini | Peronist Party | 24 February 1944 – 4 June 1952 | Juan Domingo Perón |
| 23 | Roberto M. Dupeyron | Peronist Party | 4 June 1952 – 21 September 1955 | Juan Domingo Perón |
| 24 | José Blas Paladino | Independent | 23 September 1955 – 13 November 1955 | Eduardo Lonardi |
| 25 | Pedro Mendiondo | Independent | 13 November 1955 – 1 May 1958 | Pedro Aramburu |
| Ministry of Public Works and Services (1958–1973) |||||||
| 26 | Justo Policarpo Villar | Radical Civic Union | 18 June 1958 – 25 June 1959 | Arturo Frondizi |
| 27 | Alberto Costantini | Independent | 25 June 1959 – 28 April 1961 | Arturo Frondizi |
| 28 | Arturo Acevedo | Independent | 28 April 1961 – 15 January 1962 | Arturo Frondizi |
| 29 | José Mazar Barnett | Radical Civic Union | 15 January 1962 – 25 March 1962 | Arturo Frondizi |
| 30 | Arturo Acevedo | Independent | 25 March 1962 – 30 April 1962 | Arturo Frondizi |
| 30 | Arturo Acevedo | Independent | 25 March 1962 – 30 April 1962 | José María Guido |
| 31 | Julio César Crivelli | Independent | 30 April 1962 – 12 December 1962 | José María Guido |
| 32 | Horacio Jorge Zubiri | Radical Civic Union | 12 December 1962 – 12 October 1963 | José María Guido |
| 33 | Miguel Ferrando | Radical Civic Union | 12 October 1963 – 28 June 1966 | Arturo Illia |
| 34 | Luis María Gotelli | Independent | 28 June 1966 – 8 June 1970 | Juan Carlos Onganía |
| 35 | Aldo Ferrer | Radical Civic Union | 8 June 1970 – 26 October 1970 | Roberto Levingston |
| 36 | Oscar Colombo | Independent | 26 October 1970 – 8 June 1971 | Roberto Levingston |
| 36 | Oscar Colombo | Independent | 26 October 1970 – 8 June 1971 | Alejandro Lanusse |
| 37 | Pedro A. Gordillo | Independent | 8 June 1971 – 25 May 1973 | Alejandro Lanusse |
| Ministry of Planning (1976–1978) |||||||
| 38 | Ramón Genaro Díaz Bessone | Independent (Military) | 25 October 1976 – 30 December 1977 | Jorge Rafael Videla |
| 39 | Carlos E. Laidlaw | Independent (Military) | 30 December 1977 – 30 October 1978 | Jorge Rafael Videla |
| Ministry of Public Works and Services (1981–1991) |||||||
| 40 | Diego Urricarriet | Independent (Military) | 29 March 1981 – 12 December 1981 | Roberto Viola |
| 41 | Sergio Martini | Independent | 22 December 1981 – 1 July 1982 | Leopoldo Galtieri |
| 42 | Conrado Bauer | Independent | 2 July 1982 – 10 December 1983 | Reynaldo Bignone |
| 43 | Roque Carranza | Radical Civic Union | 10 December 1983 – 27 May 1985 | Raúl Alfonsín |
| 44 | Roberto Tomasini | Radical Civic Union | 27 May 1985 – 3 July 1986 | Raúl Alfonsín |
| 45 | Pedro Trucco | Radical Civic Union | 3 July 1986 – 16 September 1987 | Raúl Alfonsín |
| 46 | Rodolfo Terragno | Radical Civic Union | 16 September 1987 – 26 May 1989 | Raúl Alfonsín |
| 47 | Roberto Pedro Echarte | Radical Civic Union | 26 May 1989 – 8 July 1989 | Raúl Alfonsín |
| 48 | Roberto José Dromi | UCEDE | 8 July 1989 – 4 January 1991 | Carlos Menem |
| Ministry of Economy, Public Works and Services (1991–1999) |||||||
| 49 | Domingo Cavallo | Justicialist Party | 1 March 1991 – 6 August 1996 | Carlos Menem |
| 50 | Roque Fernández | Justicialist Party | 6 August 1996 – 10 December 1999 | Carlos Menem |
| Ministry of Infrastructure and Housing (1999–2001) |||||||
| 51 | Nicolás Gallo | Radical Civic Union | 10 December 1999 – 5 October 2000 | Fernando de la Rúa |
| 52 | José Luis Machinea | Radical Civic Union | 5 October 2000 – 5 March 2001 | Fernando de la Rúa |
| 53 | Ricardo López Murphy | Radical Civic Union | 5 March 2001 – 20 March 2001 | Fernando de la Rúa |
| 54 | Carlos Bastos | Independent | 20 March 2001 – 21 December 2001 | Fernando de la Rúa |
| Ministry of Federal Planning, Public Investment and Services (2003–2015) |||||||
| 55 | Julio de Vido | Justicialist Party | 25 May 2003 – 10 December 2015 | Néstor Kirchner |
| 55 | Julio de Vido | Justicialist Party | 25 May 2003 – 10 December 2015 | Cristina Fernández de Kirchner |
| Ministry of the Interior, Public Works and Housing (2015–2019) |||||||
| 56 | Rogelio Frigerio | Republican Proposal | 10 December 2015 – 10 December 2019 | Mauricio Macri |
| Ministry of Public Works (2019–2023) |||||||
| 57 | Gabriel Katopodis | Justicialist Party | 10 December 2019 – 10 December 2023 | Alberto Fernández |
| Secretary of Public Works (2023–) |||||||
| 59 | Luis Giovine | Independent | 10 December 2023 – present | Javier Milei |