The Government created the Control Council of the Trunk Navigable Waterway to oversee operations and works on the Paraná River


Following the awarding of the tender for the Trunk Navigable Waterway (VNT) in the middle of the year, the National Government took a key step in the control and transparency framework of the country’s main fluvial highway. Through Resolution No. 47/2026 signed by the Executive Director of the National Agency of Ports and Navigation (ANPYN), Iñaki Miguel Arreseygor, the creation of the Control Council of the Trunk Navigable Waterway was ordered and its operating statute was approved.

Geographic reference
The new body has a direct strategic importance for the agro-export hub of the San Lorenzo department (San Lorenzo, Puerto General San Martín and Timbúes), a node that concentrates the majority of the nearly 60 port terminals located along the route through which approximately 80% of the Argentine Republic’s external sales pass.

A collegiate body with four sectors represented
The Council will act as an institutional and consultative body within the sphere of ANPYN. Its central purpose is to analyze the performance of the navigation system, identify potential operational bottlenecks at an early stage, and evaluate compliance with the dredging, beaconing, and signaling contracts.

To guarantee a broad range of representation, the statute divided the Plenary’s composition into four key sectors, each with the right to one vote:

  • Provincial Sector: Representatives of the riverside states (among which Santa Fe has a predominant role). One of its members will hold the Vice-Presidency of the Council.
  • Users Sector: Made up of agro-export chambers, private port terminals, shipowners, and shipping companies.
  • Technical and Social Sector: Specialists in fluvial engineering, the environment, academic entities, and organizations linked to the activity.
  • Application Authority Sector: Headed by ANPYN itself.

The Presidency of the Council will be held by the head of ANPYN, while under Article 3 of the regulation, Lic. Carlos Alberto Ferrari was appointed on an ad honorem basis as Executive Secretary of the body.

Six technical commissions to monitor the management of the river
In order to address the complexity of navigation, the statute provides for the permanent functioning of six technical, auxiliary, and preparatory working commissions:

  • Traffic Monitoring and Economic Regime: Control of cargo volumes, tolls, and logistics costs.
  • Environmental Commission: Monitoring of the impact of dredging and protection of the Paraná ecosystem.
  • Navigation Safety and Technology: Implementation of digital beaconing systems, bathymetries, and tracking technology.
  • Infrastructure, Works, and Associated Services: Oversight of compliance with the 34-foot dredging plans and complementary works.
  • Maintenance and Improvement of the System: Proposals for optimization of the navigable route.
  • Federal Development and Regional Logistics: Coordination with the regional economies of the country’s interior.

Consultative character and territorial rotation
The regulation clarifies that the Council’s powers are concentrated on advice, the issuance of non-binding recommendations, and the formulation of technical opinions. Regulatory, contractual, and concession authority remain exclusively in the hands of the National State through ANPYN.

The Plenary will meet ordinarily every two months and may convene both at ANPYN headquarters and on a rotating basis in the various riverside provinces that make up the body, allowing the voice and operational needs of the Up River ports to be brought directly to the decision-making table of the Trunk Navigable Waterway.

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