In the town of Puerto Murtinho, Brazil, the Paraguayan general director of Itaipu Binacional, José Alberto Alderete, held a key meeting with Brazilian authorities, where they agreed to seek to speed up the processes so that, within a maximum period of one and a half years, work can begin on the bridge that will link Carmelo Peralta, Paraguayan Chaco, with Murtinho.
Director Alderete confirmed the political will of President Mario Abdo Benítez's government to carry out the project, while ensuring its financing by Itaipu, whose estimated investment is around US$ 75 million. The bridge will be built exclusively by Paraguayan companies, with national labor and materials.
The meeting was attended by the governor of the State of Mato Grosso do Sul, Reinaldo Azambuja; the president of the legislative body of the State of Mato Grosso do Sul, Paulo Correa; the Brazilian advisor of Itaipu, Carlos Marun; Jaime Verruck, from the State Secretariat of Environment, Economic Development, Production and Family Farming (Semagro) of Brazil, and Nelson Cintra, former mayor of Puerto Murtinho.
Director Alderete described the meeting as “historic” as it allowed progress towards unprecedented integration across the Department of Alto Paraguay and the State of Mato Grosso do Sul, with the completion of the first international crossing over the Paraguay River between both countries, and the second during the current administration.
"A few days ago, the cornerstone was laid marking the beginning of the construction of the second bridge over the Paraná River, linking Foz de Yguazú – Puerto Meira, with Presidente Franco, and now we have talked about speeding up the whole process. Paraguay, through Itaipu, is in the process of preparing the design of the executive preliminary project and we will also soon make a call for companies to be able to compete for the final preparation of the executive project design and the inspection of the bridge."He announced. He indicated that the idea is to start the bridge, as a deadline, in a year and a half.
In turn, the governor of Mato Grosso do Sul, Reinaldo Azambuja, acknowledged that the construction of this bridge is a long-standing dream of Brazilians, which will bring great development to the area and enable a new export and import route, through the bioceanic land connection between the ports of the Atlantic and the Pacific.
"Cultural and tourism integration will also be of great importance. We are very happy with the responsibility that Itaipu Paraguay has in this project, providing the necessary financial resources.", he pointed.
The Brazilian governor announced that he will soon visit President Mario Abdo Benítez, in order to deepen relations in view of this new road infrastructure.
Features of the Bioceanic Bridge
The future international bridge over the Paraguay River would be a cable-stayed bridge, with a length of more than 700 meters and its construction is scheduled to be completed in 2023. Its dimensions and characteristics would be similar to the bridge between Presidente Franco and Foz de Yguazú, with the capacity to handle large volumes of cargo.
Itaipu plans to hire specialized companies to conduct a complete feasibility study, socio-environmental study and final engineering design.
These and other large-scale works carried out by Itaipu Binacional constitute actions that will help to stimulate the national economy, in addition to generating development and providing employment.
Source: IP
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