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It is unknown who will take over, with the concession expired and the "short" contract with AGP extended without an expiration date
More than 80% of the countrys exports pass through the Paraná-Paraguay waterway, that is, through the development of the waterway in navigable conditions, depths and signals for the entry of ships.
It is more than 3,400 kilometers that allow continuous navigation between the ports of Argentina, Brazil, Bolivia, Paraguay and Uruguay.
Since the mid-1990s, dredging and beacons have been carried out through a concession system and the company had to guarantee the navigable conditions of the entire Argentine highway. It was a process aimed at greater integration, particularly with the landlocked South American states: Paraguay and Bolivia. The impact of this work, added to crop rotation and biotechnology, allowed the productive area to triple and port facility capacity was expanded, based on Law 24093 of 1992.
The investments allowed the ship to be loaded, instead of the other way around. That lowered costs and was a revolution for the national agricultural product. But today the scenario is different.
The concession expired in 2021 and, since then, the General Ports Administration (AGP) has administered and managed the Trunk Waterway, although it has subcontracted the dredging to the Belgian company Jan de Nul and, since last year, to the local company EMEPA for the beaconing The State maintains not only the administration, but also the sovereign control through the prefecture, customs and bromatological controls.
However, it is still unknown who will take over the administration, with the concession expired for more than two years and the "short" contract with AGP extended without an expiration date last August.
In this context, geopolitical disputes appear because there are Chinese companies interested in a new call for bids. In fact, it was a topic discussed during Sergio Massas trip to China this week.
It is no coincidence that last month the ambassadors of Belgium and the United States visited the dredges that Jan de Nul has in Corrientes, a form of pressure against a potential greater influence of Beijing in the region.
It is no coincidence that last month the ambassadors of Belgium and the United States visited the dredges that Jan de Nul has in Corrientes. For now
, the government is not giving any further indications regarding a new call, although the scenario could change prior to the elections, especially at a time when foreign currency is scarce.
At the same time, as of 2023, the Argentine State charges a toll in the amount of US$ 1.47 per ton of the vessels net register, a unit of measurement that arises from the calculation of the volumetric weight of the vessel and its dimensions.
This amount is only for ships that pass through foreign ports, while those that pass through national ports pay $1.47 per net registered ton.
The Argentine State justifies the decision based on the need to maintain the system, its dredging and beaconing, for the navigability of some 5,000 barges per year. But other states, particularly Paraguay, questioned the measure.
Last month, during the Meeting of the Paraguay-Paraná Waterway Agreement Commission, in Montevideo, the Paraguayan Foreign Ministry reported that the data presented by Argentina is not enough to justify the new toll. The delegations of Bolivia, Brazil and Uruguay also rejected the measure, especially since it was taken unilaterally, without previously informing the Agreement Commission.
Juan Carlos Venesia, general director of the Rosario Institute for Regional Development and executive director of the Regional Infrastructure Program for Integration of the National University of that city, explains that all international traffic pays a toll, "like a truck on a highway."
But it also clarifies that "unilateral decisions were made regarding pre-established agreements" and that "Paraguay and Bolivia have to contribute in the binational sections. The intergovernmental waterway committee has raised these issues but is lagging behind in avoiding conflict."
The disputes with neighboring countries and the suspended tender are part of a climate of particularly serious uncertainty, considering the significant circulation through this route: there are more than 120 million tons per year, almost everything transported is for export and linked to agriculture.
But in addition, the mobilization of cargo in the river has multiplied by 20 in the last two decades. The waterway has the potential to become one of the main and most profitable waterways on the planet, with one of the most sought-after dredging contracts. Since the end of the concession, a foreseeable horizon has not been fully defined and all growth becomes feeble.
waterway
“Side B is that the state system transferred to the provinces suffered a lethargy as a result of the lack of investment. And Argentina lost the opportunity to develop cabotage on that waterway. This was captured by the Paraguayan flag, which was equipped with more than 2,000 barges," explains Venesia, adding that the system needs greater predictability because today it is limited to 34 feet (10.36 meters).
A greater depth would allow the access of larger vessels and, therefore, would result in higher income for the State and greater benefits for producers. «We do not do relevant works, a plateau is seen that takes away our role of preponderance and other areas appear, such as the waterways in Brazil. Argentina should have defined these points 10 years ago.
The lack of necessary complementarity between river transport and other means that bring cargo to ports should also be considered. The lack of investment in railways has repercussions in longer transfer times and in favoring automotive transport, which is up to five times more expensive than the first.
The lack of certainty and predictability, even more so in an election year, means that everything related to the waterway lags behind. It is a route through which some US$ 70,000 million per year circulate and the main source of foreign currency in the country, more relevant than Vaca Muerta, which enjoys a greater presence in speeches and public announcements. However, this kind of "live cow", as Venesia calls it, remains adrift. |
