The Bioceanic Road Corridor advances in the Paraguayan Chaco, with the last section before the border with Argentina beginning to receive its first layer of asphalt. Lot 4 of Route PY15, which extends 52 kilometers to Pozo Hondo, already shows a physical progress of 35.56% and includes the construction of a future border center and studies for a new international bridge over the Pilcomayo River. This final stage, executed by the TCR Consortium with financing from Fonplata, is crucial to complete the land link that will connect Brazil, Paraguay, Argentina, and Chile, transforming the region into a central logistics hub.
Simultaneously, the country's first concrete highway, the PY05 between Pozo Colorado and Concepción, already has nearly 30 kilometers of rigid pavement completed. The project, divided into two lots and financed by the Development Bank of Latin America and the Caribbean (CAF) and Fonplata, aims to provide a safer and more resilient connection between the Chaco and the Eastern region, benefiting some 400,000 people once completed and boosting Concepción as a logistics hub in the north.
While infrastructure works advance, the political scene was marked by the approval, after weeks of tension, of a $75 million loan from the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) for the Rural Connectivity Improvement Program. The Chamber of Deputies sanctioned the project with 52 votes in favor, allocating the resources to the construction and improvement of approximately 123.79 kilometers of rural roads and 315 meters of bridges in seven departments, including Alto Paraná, Canindeyú, Caazapá, and Caaguazú, with the bridges spanning additional departments such as Itapúa and San Pedro.
The approval of the credit only occurred after an extraordinary session convened due to a lack of quorum in previous attempts, an impasse that generated strong public criticism within the ruling party itself, the Colorado Party (ANR). Senator Silvio "Beto" Ovelar, from the Cartista faction, had questioned the delay by the deputies, leading to heated replies. Deputy Hugo Meza, also a Cartista, defended the autonomy of the Lower House and made ironic comments about Ovelar, while Deputy Alejandro Aguilera held him responsible for "clouding the legislative process".
The final unlocking of the loan was mediated by Vice President Pedro Alliana, who met with deputies before the session to highlight the project's importance. The Minister of Public Works, Claudia Centurión, also participated in meetings to clarify technical doubts about the territorial distribution of the resources, assuring that this is the second of three total loans of $250 million that will progressively cover 12 departments.
On the same day, the Senate approved another significant infrastructure financing: a loan of up to $286 million from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) for the second stage of the southern bioceanic corridor, linking Yabebyry to Pilar. However, Minister Centurión was the target of criticism from opposition legislators during the debate, being questioned about the slowness in executing works with already approved credits and the high costs per kilometer of road.