Asunción is preparing a package of US$100 million in urban interventions for the Costanera, financed by the World Bank, as part of the agenda of the Asunción 500 Years Commission for the capital’s fifth centenary in 2037. The plan combines urban resilience works, housing, public-space improvements and mobility.
One of the most sensitive measures will be the relocation of 550 families living in La Chacarita, also known as the Ricardo Brugada neighborhood. The project provides housing solutions for residents, but its implementation will have to reconcile the area’s environmental and urban redevelopment with the preservation of social ties and families’ access to services and transportation.
The proposal is not limited to the riverfront. According to Carlos Renato Maas Franco, coordinator of the Asunción 500 Years Commission, the transformation should include the redevelopment of the historic center, efforts to attract residents back to the central area and the planning of new parts of the city. The aim is to integrate heritage, housing, public spaces, connectivity and adaptation to environmental and social challenges.
Maas Franco also presented the Tren de Cercanías as part of this metropolitan strategy. The project provides for a station at Parque Caballero in Asunción and a first phase reaching Luque. In later phases, the connection could extend to Areguá and Ypacaraí, expanding travel options between the capital and surrounding cities.
“Parque Caballero will be a station on the Tren de Cercanías,” the coordinator said. He explained that the facility should also serve passengers traveling to areas such as Ñu Guasu and municipalities in the metropolitan region.
The timeline and final format of the interventions still depend on project implementation and coordination among the institutions involved. International financing provides a concrete resource for the Costanera, but the relocation of families and transport integration will be decisive in assessing the plan’s social impact.
For Maas Franco, the 500th anniversary should serve as the starting point for a long-term urban policy. “If we really want to plan Asunción, we have to plan for at least 50 years,” he said.