The Paraguayan government announced on Tuesday (03.09.2019) the formation of a commission that will oversee the construction of a bridge that will link Chaco, the western region of the country, with the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso do Sul, as part of the "bioceanic" corridor, which aims to link the Atlantic with the Pacific.
This commission is bilateral and in Paraguay it will be made up of experts from the Ministries of Foreign Affairs, Public Works, Finance, Environment and Sustainable Development and the Paraguayan-Brazilian Itaipú dam, which will finance the work at a cost of 75 million dollars.
Paraguayan Minister of Public Works Arnoldo Wiens said at a press conference held at the Foreign Ministry that the commissioners will be in charge of coordinating technical, legal, economic and exploitation aspects at the "border point" of the town of Carmelo Peralta, in the Alto Paraguay department.
This town in Chaco is separated by the Paraguay River from the Brazilian city of Puerto Murtinho, the other city that will be connected by the bridge, which will be a cable-stayed bridge with a length of 680 meters and will be completed in March 2023, according to the design presented at the time.
The construction of this work "It is a national, even regional cause (…) and as soon as the joint commission is formed by the Brazilian Foreign Ministry, we can move forward.", Wiens said, explaining that the designs for the bridge are currently being put out to tender.
The minister recalled that the construction will be undertaken entirely by Paraguayan companies, according to the bilateral agreement, which in reciprocity will allow Brazilian companies to be in charge of another bridge between the cities of Puerto Franco (Paraguay) and Foz do Iguazú (Brazil), also financed by Itaipú.
This border link is part of the bioceanic corridor, a long-standing and large-scale South American project that will link southern Brazil with the Chilean ports of Iquique and Antofagasta, passing through the north of the Paraguayan Chaco and Argentina.
To this end, the first asphalt sections have already been built in the same Chaco area, out of a total of 20 into which the 277-kilometer highway project on the Paraguayan part of the corridor is divided.
Once the works are completed, at a cost of 443 million dollars, the ports of the Pacific Ocean will be connected to those of the Atlantic, the Ministry of Public Works reported on its website, where it describes these initiatives as the "South American Panama Canal."
During the presentation of the project on July 20, the Head of State, Mario Abdo Benítez, highlighted the strategic location of this road junction, given the productive potential of Chaco's livestock farming and the wealth of southern Brazil as a producer of food and grains.
Source: Reuters
Joint Commission will seek to accelerate processes for the construction of the Carmelo Peralta-Puerto Murtinho bridge.https://t.co/ZQKxvJ4NOk pic.twitter.com/rkKdPTbuuD
— Paraguayan Foreign Ministry (@mreparaguay) September 3, 2019
Aduana News is the first Argentine customs newspaper to launch its digital version. With 20 years of experience, its publications and initiatives aim to provide the most relevant knowledge on customs issues in order to contribute to safe trade in the region.
