Paraguay and Argentina are making progress in defining the terms for the future concession of dredging, signaling, and technological modernization works on the Paraná-Paraguay waterway, a strategic project considered the largest inland waterway in the region and the main route for Paraguay's foreign trade.
Authorities from both countries are working on a bilateral agenda aimed at ensuring 24-hour navigation, increasing the operational draft of the Paraná River, and reducing the logistical costs of cargo transport. A key point in the negotiations is the exclusive participation of Paraguayan companies in the consortia that will be formed for the operational concession and infrastructure works, a measure intended to ensure that the investment, engineering, and economic benefits of the project remain within the country.
The initiative has already received technical validation from the competent institutions on both sides of the border. In the coming days, an official mission to Buenos Aires is planned to finalize the technical agreements and the calls for bids for the upcoming concession. Once negotiations are complete, the agreement will be submitted to the Paraguayan Congress for ratification through legislation.
"The Paraná-Paraguay waterway annually handles the largest volumes of our foreign trade. Ensuring safe 24-hour navigation and increasing the operational draft of the Paraná River will immediately reduce logistical costs in the Southern Cone," said Carlos Núñez Salinas, president of the Economic and Financial Affairs Committee of the Chamber of Deputies.
Alongside the legislator, the negotiations involve Foreign Minister Rubén Ramírez Lezcano and Paraguay's delegate to the Paraguayan-Argentine Joint Commission of the Paraná River, Martín Augusto González Guggiari. It is estimated that the works could generate more than 5,000 direct and indirect jobs in sectors related to river transport, construction, and port infrastructure, as well as enhance the competitiveness of the country's foreign trade.