Paraná–Paraguay Waterway

Paraná River.

The Paraná-Paraguay-Uruguay Waterway is characterized by the implementation of an engineering project aimed at creating a system of navigable channels along the Paraguay and Paraná rivers, as well as some of their selected tributaries. The main objective of this project is to enable the constant traffic, 365 days a year, of shallow-draft vessels with high cargo capacity, focusing on the transport of minerals, fuels, and agricultural products as the main goods.

To achieve this goal, various river engineering measures will need to be implemented, including the straightening of watercourses by eliminating meanders, widening the river by removing riparian vegetation, enhancing safety through appropriate signaling systems, eliminating islands and islets using controlled explosive techniques, and finally, deepening the riverbed through dredging operations.

According to the project, the waterway will extend from north to south, from the Brazilian city of Puerto Cáceres in the state of Mato Grosso to the Paraná Delta, emptying into the New Palmira Port in the Colonia Department of Uruguay.

The countries that share this river system —Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay— carried out an initial phase in which they promoted comprehensive studies to assess the economic, technical, and environmental feasibility of the necessary improvements to ensure the sustainable use of the water resources in question. These countries established the Intergovernmental Waterway Committee (CIH) as the coordinating body for these initiatives, through which agreements were formalized with international organizations such as the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), the Financial Fund for the Development of the River Plate Basin (Fonplata), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), and the Andean Corporation of Development (CAF) to carry out the relevant studies. Between 1988 and 2010, there was a significant increase in the transportation of goods along this waterway, from 700,000 tons annually to nearly 17.4 million tons per year. Subsequently, this transport volume continued to grow significantly, surpassing the current figure of 36 million tons per year. In terms of the composition of the cargo, the importance of soy and its derivatives as the dominant products stands out, followed by iron and fuels.

Works

In Argentina, navigational aids and signaling were carried out in a segment that had remained without maintenance for decades, from Santa Fe to the Confluence area at kilometer 1,238 of the Paraná River. In addition to these measures, progress has been made in the channeling of the Paraguay River, particularly in one of the most complex stretches for navigation. In 2013, the construction of the dock at the New Port of Posadas (Argentina) was completed, located near the Posadas Industrial Park. This new port plays a key role as an access point to the Paraná-Paraguay Waterway. Since 2015, Chaco Province has been working on the construction of a logistics center to facilitate interconnection between the Paraná-Paraguay Waterway and the Barranqueras Port. This port is expected to be the most important in the province, further strengthening the region's logistics infrastructure.

In 2011, President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner initiated development works on the Paraná-Paraguay Waterway to allow a 28-foot draft for vessels, later increased to 32 feet. These modifications were made to support the renovation project for the Santa Fe port, with a total investment of $112 million. This project included a series of interventions, such as widening, signaling, and dredging of the Paraná River, to facilitate agricultural production transport. The works covered an extension of more than 650 kilometers of the waterway, enabling 24-hour, year-round navigation in line with the vision of improving efficiency and accessibility in the region's river transport.

The dredging and signaling process of the Paraná River, designed to ensure continuous navigability, covers a stretch of 600 kilometers from Santa Fe to the ports of Barranqueras and Corrientes. This initiative aims to reduce operating costs and improve competitiveness in the transport of Argentine grain. The inauguration of these operations was attended by Governor Hermes Binner, along with his counterparts from Entre Ríos, Sergio Uribarri, and Chaco, Jorge Capitanich.

In 2024, the government of Javier Milei signed a controversial memorandum to install US military personnel on the national territory adjacent to the waterway. The inclusion of US military in the management of the Waterway sparked a conflict between the national government and the northern provinces. Additionally, it allows the installation of US military forces in the Paraná-Paraguay Waterway as part of a complete alignment of government policy with the United States. After the secret agreement became public, the opposition denounced the measure for violating national sovereignty, and several political factions called for the Chief of Staff, Nicolás Posse, to appear before Congress to explain.

Socio-environmental Impacts of the Waterway

Based on studies done by the Inter-American Development Bank and CEFRED in collaboration with WWF, Spanish scientist Pedro Arrojo (2008) stated the potential consequences of constructing this Waterway:

"When we drain and dry wetlands, we reduce nature's inertia in the continental water cycle, which regulates water flow, reducing peak floods and the resulting flood risks, as well as the impacts of droughts and dry cycles. A paradigmatic case of this is the controversial Waterway project between Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay, and Bolivia. A megaproyject that, for years, and in successive versions, has been threatening the complex hydrological system that feeds and regulates the headwaters of the River Plate Basin. The project aims to drain the Gran Pantanal, the world's largest wetland, with an extension of 200,000 km. The goal is to improve navigability and facilitate the export of minerals and raw materials from the heart of South America. Studies carried out for the Inter-American Development Bank estimated that the massive dredging of channels and the draining of the wetland would result in the extinction of about 600 fish species, 650 bird species, and 80 mammal species." On the other hand, the disruption of the regulatory function of the Pantanal would increase the risks of flooding and the impact of droughts throughout the basin (CEBRAC and WWF, 1994).

Over the 25 years of operation of the Hidrovía, the main recorded impacts have been: in biodiversity, dredging involves excavating the riverbed to increase the depth of the navigation channel. This directly impacts all forms of life that inhabit the riverbed, as well as the species that feed on them. Additionally, the deposition of the extracted sediment can modify the flooding cycles of the wetlands associated with the main river course, affecting the organisms that live there. All of this movement of massive volumes of material that is removed from the riverbed increases the suspension of sediments and the turbidity of the water. This has negative consequences for many organisms. In the water, dredging in coastal areas to install ports, increased shipping traffic, and port activities, coupled with potential oil spills and hazardous substance discharges, have the potential to increase water pollution and the risk of introducing invasive exotic species. Many of the country's main cities rely on these rivers for water. The loss of water quality directly impacts the health of aquatic life, the livelihoods of people, and the costs for water treatment. On the coasts, the increase in shipping traffic and the cargo volumes of ships can reduce transport costs, but the impact of wave action on the coasts cannot be overlooked. This artificial movement of water increases coastal erosion and can cause the collapse of riverbanks, resulting in environmental and often social costs that must be avoided, minimized, or, ultimately, compensated for. As for the people, it invariably affects communities whose livelihoods depend on wetlands and fisheries.

Main Cities Along the Waterway

On the Paraná River

• San Pedro (ARG)
• San Nicolás (ARG)
• Rosario (ARG)
• San Lorenzo (ARG)
• Posadas (ARG)
• Diamante (ARG)
• Paraná (ARG)
• Santa Fe (ARG)
• La Paz (ARG)
• Goya (ARG)
• Reconquista (ARG)
• Bella Vista (ARG)
• Corrientes (ARG)
• Resistencia (ARG)

in Paraguay:

• Encarnación (PAR)
• Ciudad del Este (PAR)

in Brazil:

• Foz do Iguaçu (BRA)

On the Paraguay River

• Asunción (PAR)
• Humaitá (PAR)
• Pilar (PAR)
• Formosa (ARG)
• Concepción (PAR)
• Porto Murtinho (BRA)
• Corumbá (BRA)
• Cáceres (BRA)
• Puerto Aguirre (BOL)
• Puerto Busch (BOL)
• Puerto Suárez (BOL)

On the Uruguay River

• Nueva Palmira (URU)

Benefits for the Region

Promotes trade. Provides access to the sea for landlocked countries. Increases revenue through tolls, service contracts, and port stays. Stimulates imports and exports. Increases consumption in port regions.

Drawbacks for the Region

Loss of wetlands, islands, and forests. Increased water pollution. Altered ecosystems leading to severe droughts and floods. Extinction of native plant and animal species. Displacement of local communities. Loss of artisanal jobs. Inhibition of recreational use of the area in favor of large merchant vessels.