The construction of the waterway that will connect Brazil to Uruguay will ensure much more efficient cargo transport within the port sector and, consequently, an even greater expansion of the segment after the completion of the project

Recently, the studies for the construction of the waterway that will connect Brazil to Uruguay were handed over to the Minister of Infrastructure. Until this Tuesday, (26/04), it is believed that the works project will have millionaire investments and will allow a much more efficient flow and transport of loads. In addition to an even greater connection between the port sector of both countries, ensuring a more accelerated development of the segment.

Ministry of infrastructure receives final studies for the project to build the waterway that will link Brazil to Uruguay to enable more efficient cargo transport between the countries

During this last Thursday, the Minister of Infrastructure, Marcelo Sampaio, received the project from the hands of the ambassador of Uruguay, Guilherme Valles, the studies for the concession project of the Lagoa Mirim Waterway, in Rio Grande do Sul, which will be a meeting point between the two countries and will enable an even greater connection of the ports in the region, with a greater efficiency in the logistics of operations with cargo produced in both Brazil and Uruguay. 

This project is the first waterway transport project qualified under the Investment Partnerships Program and will guarantee safe vessel traffic and the flow of cargo through the southern region of the South American continent. In this way, cargo transport will become much more streamlined and efficient, with less bureaucracy and much faster logistics operations, since the countries will be even more connected and will be able to carry out activities with more control over the flow of production carried out in both nations. 

With that, Minister Marcelo Sampaio commented on the need for a waterway linking the countries and on the benefits for cargo transport with the construction of the project, further stating that “Brazil and Uruguay have a great history. They are more than sister countries. We share over a thousand kilometers of borders and maintain significant bilateral trade of around US$ 3 billion a year. We are united by historical, economic and cultural bonds. What we want is to see this waterway operating and the border region, especially in the southeast of Rio Grande do Sul and in the northeast of Uruguay, prospering”.

The Federal Government will still analyze studies to make the project viable, but representatives of the Brazilian ports expect good results for the construction of the waterway over the next few years. 

Now, after delivering the final studies for the construction of the waterway that will connect the countries, the Federal Government will make a analysis analysis of the results, in addition to complementing them with the support of CAF (Development Bank of Latin America) and, at the end of the review of the studies, will open a public consultation to receive contributions from society, to finalize these initial stages with the prior analysis of the Federal Court of Accounts (TCU).

Once this is done, the next steps will be the preparation and publication of the concession notice by the National Waterway Transport Agency (Antaq) and, finally, the scheduling of the auction. Meanwhile, the government just waits for the process and tries to speed up the project, since the waterway will be essential for more efficient logistics in the transport of cargo between ports in Latin America. 

In addition, the project is estimated at a total investment of R$ 30 million for construction and will allow Uruguayan vessels to access the port of Rio Grande (RS) through the waterway connection between Lagoa Mirim and Lagoa dos Patos.