Economist Gladys Benegas proposes expanding the review of Paraguay’s Fiscal Responsibility Law to measure unexecuted spending, the cost of idle public liquidity and returns on financial investments, citing Argentine funds with low execution and resources invested in Treasury securities.
Itaipú
Itaipú is a binational hydropower dam shared by Paraguay and Brazil on the Paraná River. For Paraguay it is a key source of electricity, state revenue, and energy-policy negotiations with Brazil.
Paraguay and Taiwan are planning a binational artificial intelligence data center in Chaco’i, based on a model similar to Itaipu and presented by the Paraguayan government as intended to become the world’s largest AI center. The project’s final capacity is planned at up to 1,000 MW, with an estimated initial investment of US$200 million to US$300 million.
Decree No. 6,692, signed by Santiago Peña, authorizes the transfer for consideration of a military property spanning more than 9 hectares at Km 8 in Ciudad del Este to the Ministry of Health to build the Gran Hospital de Alto Paraná. Itaipú will fully finance the physical works, initially planned to have 204 inpatient beds and 56 intensive care beds.
ANDE has halted negotiations with ATOME to supply power to the green hydrogen and fertilizer plant in Villeta, deeming it unsustainable to maintain the proposed fixed tariff for 15 years, while Sitrande challenges the state utility’s reorganization and warns of risks to the electricity sector.
Paraguay's state electricity utility ANDE has kept two strategic projects stalled for years: the sale of energy from the Acaray plant to Brazil and the issuance of its own bonds, both without an official completion schedule.
Works on the return viaduct over Silvio Pettirossi Avenue, part of the Las Residentas Road Corridor duplication, advance with beam assembly and will require traffic diversions starting August 15, while parallel diversions in the area will occur between August 10 and 30 for drainage works.
An Ecuadorian business group, formed by Novacero and Holding Swissôtel, will invest $200 million in Paraguay for a hotel complex and to transform an acquired steel distributor into an industrial unit, attracted by economic growth, investment promotion laws, and cheap energy.
The government of Santiago Peña spent over US$ 22 million on advertising through Itaipú, which defends the expenditures, while Petropar plans to bid out promotional items like bags and uniforms, and lawmakers propose redirecting such funds to healthcare.
President Santiago Peña has appointed Miguel Báez Reyes as the head of Paraguay's state electricity utility ANDE, replacing Félix Sosa. The government states the move is intended to unblock investments, but unions and the opposition link it to pressure for a preferential tariff contract with the company Atome.
The cost of the Bioceanic Route bridge connecting Carmelo Peralta in Paraguay to Puerto Murtinho in Brazil has increased by $11.5 million during the project's construction, which is funded by Itaipu Binacional.
The Finance Committee of the Paraguayan Senate halted a project that would redirect communication funds to healthcare and postponed for 15 days the analysis of a budget increase to pay off the sector's debts.
The government of Santiago Peña used funds from Itaipú and Yacyretá to finance an advertising campaign in allied media outlets during the World Cup, according to a complaint by Senator Yolanda Paredes.
The Public Prosecutor's Office has requested the dismissal of the complaint against the Paraguayan director of Itaipú Binacional regarding the purchase of school furniture, having found no evidence of irregularities, although the case continues to generate public debate.
Former Itaipú director Gladys Benegas points out that regulatory failures, such as the overlapping functions of the state utility ANDE and a lack of tariff predictability, are hindering private investment in Paraguay's energy sector.
Paraguay recorded deflation of 0.3% in June, leading price stability in the region, while its energy exports fell 12.3% in the first half of the year due to increased domestic consumption.
The Paraguayan government is accelerating plans to diversify its energy matrix with natural gas, solar, and wind projects to prevent the depletion of its electricity surplus by 2030.
Opposition Senator Rafael Filizzola accuses the Peña administration of a lack of control and impunity in corruption cases, citing as examples the irregular deposit of IPS (the social security institute) funds in Ueno Bank, the alleged leniency towards former Seprelad (Secretariat for Money Laundering Prevention) head Óscar Boidanich, the shelving of complaints regarding Itaipú, and the president's acquittal in an asset investigation.
The Mercosur Summit kicked off in Luque with a focus on the trade agreement with the European Union and negotiations over the Itaipú energy tariff.
Itaipu opened the spillway gates on Sunday to control the reservoir, which reached 220.30 meters after heavy rains upstream, since increasing power generation was not possible due to low demand from the Brazilian and Paraguayan systems.
The Segundo Foro Internacional de la Ingeniería (FIING) 2026 will be held on July 23 in Asunción, organized by the Centro Paraguayo de Ingenieros to discuss national development challenges. The program will cover topics such as the Bioceanic Route bridge, the Plan Paraguay 2X, renewable energy, and the quality of higher education in engineering.
An agreement to supply electricity to Atome's fertilizer plant in Villeta at a preferential rate of $30 per MWh could result in a $750 million loss for Paraguay and ANDE over 15 years.
The ANDE Engineers Union proposed limiting the consumption of electro-intensive industries in Paraguay, such as data centers and artificial intelligence projects, to 700 MW in order to preserve the country's energy security and avoid compromising strategic resources in the medium and long term.
Economists assessed that the austerity measures announced by the Ministry of Economy and Finance (MEF) will have a marginal impact on Paraguay's public accounts and do not address the structural problems of the fiscal deficit.
Paraguay is facing an imminent energy crisis due to a 21% increase in electricity consumption in the first four months of the year, a delay of about two years in ANDE's Master Works Plan, and an investment deficit, which currently stands at $340 million annually compared to the $900 million needed per decade, potentially exhausting the energy surplus from Itaipú and Yacyretá by 2029.