Rivera dry port advances as logistics extension of Montevideo

Uruguay’s National Ports Administration, known as ANP, has taken a new step in the development of the Rivera dry port, a planned inland multimodal terminal designed to extend the reach of the Port of Montevideo into the country’s north.

ANP delivered the technical documentation needed for the next stage of environmental and land-use approval to the Rivera departmental government. The package includes the Integrated Action Program, the Strategic Environmental Report and the draft departmental decree, which must be submitted to Uruguay’s National Directorate for Environmental Quality and Assessment, known as Dinacea.

The handover took place during a meeting at ANP headquarters attended by the agency’s board, led by President Pablo Genta, as well as Rivera Mayor Richard Sander and Senator Tabaré Viera.

The documentation forms part of the land-use planning instrument needed to reclassify property No. 322, located in Rivera’s ninth cadastral section. The site must be changed from potentially transformable rural land to suburban land for logistics and other uses allowed in the southern Multiple Activities Zone before the terminal can move forward.

A logistics node linked to Montevideo

The Rivera dry port is one of ANP’s strategic projects to expand Uruguay’s port system beyond the coast and strengthen inland cargo connections.

The terminal is planned for a 26.5-hectare site at kilometer 494 of Route 5, about eight kilometers from the city of Rivera. It will operate under Uruguay’s free port regime and be integrated into the customs-port area of the Port of Montevideo, roughly 490 kilometers away.

The project is expected to combine direct rail access through the Montevideo-Rivera line with road connectivity via Route 5. That setup is designed to support multimodal cargo flows, especially containers, moving between northern Uruguay, southern Brazil and Montevideo.

Infrastructure to support regional cargo flows

The planned infrastructure includes a 300-meter rail platform with branches for truck-rail cargo transfer, a container yard and a cargo transport area.

The project also calls for logistics warehouses, grain silos, open-air storage areas, offices for control agencies, public and private services, access control systems and the incorporation of Uruguay’s Single Window for Foreign Trade, known as VUCE.

The terminal aims to attract cargo from northern Uruguay and southern Brazil, giving exporters and logistics operators another route to channel goods toward Montevideo and international markets.

Authorities also discussed the framework and specific agreements signed between ANP and the Rivera government, which cover connectivity works and fencing at the dry port site. Other initiatives aimed at strengthening Rivera’s logistics and productive development were also reviewed.

Another item on the agenda was the progress of Intraport Railway Customs Traffic, or TAFIP, an initiative being developed by ANP and Uruguay’s National Customs Directorate to facilitate the rail movement of cargo under customs control.

For trade and logistics players, the Rivera dry port could become an important inland extension of Montevideo’s port system. If completed, the terminal would help improve multimodal connectivity, support cross-border cargo flows with Brazil and strengthen Uruguay’s role as a regional logistics platform.

Source: ANP

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