China wants to dredge the Paraná River

China’s state-owned construction giant China Communications Construction Co (CCCC) is preparing an offer to dredge the Argentinean portion of the Paraná River, the country’s main cargo port, which is responsible for transporting soybeans and corn from farms to the South Atlantic sea routes of the world.

Representatives of the CCCC and its Shanghai dredging unit met with the Argentine government and local port authorities to present the idea of the dredging concession.

The Paraná River carries 80% of Argentine agricultural exports. The river is currently highly susceptible to climate change – a drought last year, for example, led authorities to decide that ships would need to lighten their loads along the river.

The Paraná River dredging is the largest logistics contract in Argentina. China is already the largest buyer of soybeans in the South American country, as the Chinese state conglomerate Cofco has become, through acquisitions, the largest operating exporter of agricultural commodities in Argentina.

There have been a series of meetings between the world’s leading dredging companies and port operators to prepare a river study, as a preliminary step for companies to be invited to submit their proposals next year, according to the Argentine Chamber of Port and Maritime Activities and the Acsoja Soy Industry Chamber.

The current Paraná River dredging concession is due to be renewed by April 2021 – it involves maintaining a free channel for cargo ships. In return, larger vessels pay up to US$80,000 in tolls to travel to and from Rosario’s grain center.

The current holder of the dredging concession is the privately owned Luxembourg-based Jan De Nul. The company will compete with CCCC and other operators for the concession in 2021, according to industry sources with direct knowledge of the situation.

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