Paraguay, Brazil sign deal on new bridge over Apa river

The foreign ministers of Brazil and Paraguay, Aloysio Nunes and Eladio Loizaga, signed yesterday (Aug. 14) an agreement on the construction of a bridge over the Apa river connecting the towns of Porto Murtinho, in the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso do Sul, and San Lázaro, in Concepción department, Paraguay.

The initiative comes as part of the Central Bi-Oceanic Rail project, which includes the construction of a new network of roads and railways connecting the South American continent from east to west, linking the Pacific to the Atlantic.

The deal was signed at the headquarters of Paraguay’s Foreign Ministry during a ceremony attended by the country’s Minister of Public Works Ramón Jiménez Gaona. The project is part of the corridor expected to connect Campo Grande—the state capital of Mato Grosso do Sul—and the Chilean ports of Iquiqui and Antofagasta, crossing the northern region of the Paraguayan Chaco and that of Argentina.

The bridge over the Apa river comes in addition to the Friendship Bridge—over 50 years old now—which connects Ciudad del Este, Paraguay’s second largest city, and Foz do Iguaçu, in the Brazilian state of Paraná.

*With information from Agência Brasil