Paraguay advances with the signing of contracts for the construction of the work that intends to tear down the Panama Canal

More than 900 million dollars will be invested by the State in the three sections of the so-called Bioceánico Corridor. So far, only the first one has been completed.

On Thursday, the Paraguayan government signed four contracts for the construction of almost 225 kilometers of Section 3 of the so-called Bioceánico Corridor, another stage in the construction of the gigantic work that will cross the Paraguayan Chaco from the border with Brazil. For Argentina, seeking to connect the ports of the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.

In this extension, the executive branch will invest more than 350 million US dollars and it is expected that all infrastructure will be commissioned in 2025.

The business will be in charge of four representatives: Consorcio del Pacífico – made up of Enrique Díaz Benza Cano and Vial Agro -; Lot 2, from the Chaqueño del Norte consortium – formed by LT S.A, Construtora Heisecke S.A. and Benito Roggio & Sons-; Block 3 will be built by CDD Construcciones; Group 4 will be responsible for the TCR consortium.”

“Today we can say that the union of the two oceans is not a dream, but a reality, through this terrestrial corridor”, the country’s Minister of Public Works and Communications, Rodolfo Segovia, told DFSUD.com.

So far, the government has allocated US$443 million for the first 277 km route, while the second – 102 km with an expected budget of US$110 million – has yet to be built.

The planning contemplates stretches 1 and 3, and the use of a nearby alternative route that will serve as a detour (or intersection) during the construction of the last stretch 2, which means a saving of 70 kilometers in relation to the provisional route.

Adequacy of the corridor

For the former Minister of Foreign Affairs and current Ambassador of Paraguay in Chile, Antonio Rivas, it is important to highlight that this business is being developed with “exclusive investments from Paraguay”.

However, the construction of the bridge over the Paraguay River between Puerto Mortinho (Brazil) and Carmelo Peralta (US$ 102 million) is financed by the binational Itaipu Hydroelectric Plant.

This work is already 65% completed and will be completed by the end of 2024. On the Paraguayan side, the biggest advance was in the pillars (65%); Then there are the chiefs who are almost 50% advanced, and are already moving forward with the construction of the bridge’s pillars, which are expected to be completed in four months.

The Bioceánico Corridor is “an immense and very important work, because it will meet practically all the needs of the intense traffic of the two oceans. ”, underlined the diplomat in conversation with this port.

Precisely for this reason, the project is particularly strategic for that country, to transform Paraguay into a logistics center in the center of the continent, competing in some way with the Panama Canal, through which many exports leave the Brazilian country. .

Rivas added that, in the case of Paraguayan industry, the most privileged sectors “are primary production and value-added production, that is, the transport of goods, meat, rice and many other products.”

For the Paraguayan ambassador, the megaproject will be suitable not only for the transport of goods, but also for tourism. “There will be great connectivity between all the cities that are part of the Bioceânica, not only in terms of movement of people, but also in terms of cultural knowledge, traditions and even the sale of handicrafts,” he said.

The action “will unite large productive areas that have long been necessary for communication between our countries. Because there is not just rhetoric, but Latin American unity must be put into practice. This will generate new alliances, markets and investments”, noted Rivas.

According to the specialist, several Chilean businessmen have already bought land close to the gorge, to set up businesses such as gas stations and restaurants.

But he cautioned that customs connectivity and all integrated systems are needed the moment operations begin.