The city of Hohenau, in the Department of Itapúa, is preparing to host a langoustine processing plant that promises to boost the local economy. The project, by the company Subatlantic Paraguay, involves an investment of around US$40 million and is expected to generate up to 600 direct jobs, according to Mayor Enrique Hahn.
The plant will operate under the maquila regime, processing 20 tons of langoustines caught in Puerto Madryn, Argentina, daily. The product will arrive frozen by land to Hohenau, where it will be sorted, packaged, and exported mainly to Europe, Canada, and the United States.
Hahn reported that the cold-storage facility is nearly ready and that interviews to select the first 200 workers have already begun. The goal is to operate three shifts, 24 hours a day, reaching 600 direct jobs.
The project is part of an industrial park developed through a public-private partnership: the Municipality of Hohenau provides the land, and investors purchase lots at preferential prices. Hahn highlighted the support of President Santiago Peña and state agencies to make the necessary infrastructure viable, including a 26-megawatt electrical substation for the park.
In addition to the langoustine plant, the mayor announced that other industrial projects are underway, such as a cushion factory and a bean processing plant for export, consolidating Hohenau as a new industrial hub in the south of the country. “The industrial sector is the one that generates the most jobs, and we want to take advantage of Hohenau’s strategic location, near Argentina and Brazil, to attract investments,” Hahn said.