Federal government completes annual dredging cycle on 620 kilometers of the Madeira Waterway

One of the main logistical axes in the north of the country, the Madeira Waterway, between Porto Velho (RO) and Manicoré (AM), will have its trafficability improved as of this week. Through its Ministry of Infrastructure, the federal government concluded the dredging services along 620 kilometers of the Madeira River. The route is responsible for transporting agricultural production from Mato Grosso and Rondônia such as fuel and fertilizer inputs destined for Porto Velho (RO) and Manaus (AM), and transported food and products from the Manaus Free Trade Zone.

In 2020 alone, 10.4 million tons of cargo were moved by the waterway, an increase of 10% over the previous year (9.5 million tons). The region comprises the states of Acre, Rondônia, Amazonas, Amapá, Pará, Mato Grosso, and Tocantins, and allows the flow of crops along the Amazon River and its tributaries on the right bank – which flow in a south-north direction.

Traffic

Signed in June for dredging the waterway, the contract is estimated to last for another four years. For four months of the year, maintenance is carried out through suction and settlement – ​​a method that has been used over the years – and, for another two months starting in 2022, a dredger with a self-conveyor is also planned to guarantee greater productivity; it needs to be operated during the highest river levels.

Vessel traffic on the Madeira River grew exponentially from the 1990s onwards due to the implementation of the new agricultural frontier for soybean and corn in the Center-West region of Brazil. The production of these commodities went from practically zero to a volume that must be transported via a flow of convoys of large ferries and pushers, in addition to mixed passenger and small cargo boats.

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