Bolivia advances strategic highway projects with Peru and Brazil

Bolivia is advancing several major road infrastructure projects aimed at improving regional connectivity, though progress varies by border and environmental impact.

On the border with Peru, Bolivia is paving a 51-kilometer stretch to connect La Paz with the border at Hito 4, with completion estimated for early 2027. However, the project faces a bottleneck as Peru has yet to tender a contract for its own 52-kilometer unpaved section following the withdrawal of a previous construction firm. While Bolivia has reserved land for a new border control complex, Peru has focused on formalizing a strategic control post in the Collpa zone.

In the eastern Chiquitania region, an agreement was signed to begin technical studies for a highway connecting San Ignacio de Velasco in Bolivia to Mato Grosso, Brazil. The project is supported by agribusiness interests, including Brazilian businessman Eraí Maggi, seeking to expand soy farming and cattle ranching. Environmental experts warn that the highway could accelerate deforestation in the Chiquitania, the largest tropical dry forest in the Americas, as land-use changes follow the new transport route.