Argentina completed the award of the Paraná-Paraguay Waterway concession to a consortium formed by Belgian dredging company Jan De Nul and Argentine firm Servimagnus. The group will operate the country's principal river transport corridor for the next 25 years.
The waterway carries about 80 percent of Argentina's foreign trade, making the decision central to the country's export logistics. The award was formalized through a resolution issued by the National Ports and Navigation Agency after the technical and administrative stages of the tender were completed.
The contract is expected to be signed within 30 days. The government estimates that the new concession will reduce logistics costs by 13.5 percent and improve operating conditions along the route.
The concession covers dredging and navigational marking from kilometer 1,238 of the Paraná River, in the Confluencia area, to the Punta Indio channel in Buenos Aires Province, where the river system connects with the Atlantic Ocean.
Planned works are intended to allow large vessels to leave Argentine ports carrying heavier loads. The new operating framework will also incorporate technology for monitoring river traffic and reinforce surveillance activities aimed at combating drug trafficking.
The government said the Jan De Nul-Servimagnus proposal was the strongest among the bids submitted and that no valid challenges were filed against the process. Belgian company DEME and Brazilian firm DTA Engenharia were excluded after their submissions and administrative appeals were rejected.
The tender also included technical participation from the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development under a memorandum designed to support oversight of different stages of the process and promote transparency standards.
The award was welcomed by business sectors and provincial governments linked to port activity. Its implementation will now depend on the signing of the contract and the consortium's ability to deliver the promised cost reductions, infrastructure upgrades and operational improvements.