Argentina awards private concession for Hydrovía river corridor

Argentina’s government finalized a 25‑year concession for the Vía Navegable Troncal of the Paraná‑Paraguay Hydrovía, assigning drag, dredging, balizamiento and modernization duties to the highest‑qualified private offer. Major industry bodies – including the Rosario Stock Exchange, the Argentine Oilseed Industry Chamber and the Argentine Industrial Union – praised the deal, calling the waterway “a strategic infrastructure for the country’s productive development” and emphasizing its impact on export competitiveness.

The concession targets a minimum depth of 42 feet to Timbúes, 32 feet to Santa Fe and 15 feet to the Paraguay confluence, expected to lower river transport costs by roughly 13‑15 %. A study by the Institute of Economic Studies (IERAL) also proposes a new cabotage law to integrate additional cargo from Argentina’s northeast, Paraguay and Brazil, further boosting the corridor’s capacity and reducing reliance on trucking.

Stakeholders anticipate that the upgrades will enable larger vessels, decrease logistics costs for agro‑exporters and improve the overall efficiency of Argentina’s international trade routes.