Brazil-Uruguay Waterway studies are ready and submitted for governmental assessment

The Minister of Infrastructure, Marcelo Sampaio, received, on April 13, the studies concerning the concession of the Lagoa Mirim Waterway in the state of Rio Grande do Sul. The Brazil-Uruguay waterway is the first waterway project to qualify for funds under the Investment Partnerships Program, ensuring safe vessel traffic and cargo flow through southern South America. The minister received the project from the Uruguayan ambassador, Guilherme Valles.

“Brazil and Uruguay have a great history together. They are more than sibling countries. We share more than a thousand kilometres of borders and maintain an expressive bilateral trade in the order of US$ 3 billion per year. Historical, economic and cultural ties unite us. We want this waterway operating and the border region, especially Rio Grande do Sul and northeastern Uruguay, thriving,” said minister Marcelo Sampaio.

The project, which is expected to cost R$ 30 million, will allow Uruguayan vessels to enter the port of Rio Grande (RS) via the canal link between Lagoa Mirim and Lagoa dos Patos. In addition, dredging and signalling will occur in the São Gonçalo channel, which links both lakes, between the Sangradouro Channel (Extreme North) and the Access Channel to the Port of Santa Vitória do Palmar (Extreme South).

Concession process

The Federal Government will review and assess the studies and, if necessary, supplement them with the support of CAF (Development Bank of Latin America). After reviewing the studies, the government will open a public consultation process to receive contributions from society. Later, the studies will be sent for prior analysis by the Brazilian Federal Court Auditors (TCU). If approved, the document will turn into a concession notice by the National Waterway Transportation Agency (Antaq) and, finally, the auction schedule.

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