Jan De Nul and Servimagnus announced the formal start of operations by Vía Navegable Argentina (VNA) for the maintenance and deepening works on the navigation system that concentrates nearly 60 port terminals and through which approximately 80% of the country’s exports circulate, connecting Argentine production with international markets.
“The start of the new concession represents a concrete benefit for waterway users: the toll rate will be reduced by 13.5%, dropping from US$4.30 to US$3.80, which could generate systemic logistics savings of between US$375 million and US$456 million annually for the agri-export sector, boosting the competitiveness of the ports of Greater Rosario and the Litoral region. This reduction constitutes the first direct impact of a new stage that will seek to generate higher levels of efficiency and predictability for the entire logistics and productive chain,” the newly formed company stated in a press release.
Progressive improvements
Progressively, the concessionaire will add improvements to navigation conditions through dredging, re-dredging, signaling, and expansion works, “incorporating technology, innovation, and know-how to modernize its operations, guaranteeing safe traffic that enhances and strengthens the logistics system through the circulation of larger cargo volumes, reducing times and costs.”
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Economy noted that “the new concession will make it possible to adapt the river to the current and future needs of foreign trade and Argentine producers, with projected deepening works and comprehensive improvements for the exporters’ logistics system.”
New technologies
The concessionaire will incorporate various technological innovations, adding cameras, radars, and a digital system for monitoring flow rates and tides, providing essential information for increasingly efficient and safe navigation.
In this way, the State is leaving to the market the investment that no government was able to carry out for years, under a concession at entrepreneurial risk with recovery of the investment via tolls.
During the first months, the required technical and environmental studies will be carried out, followed by the deepening of the Río de la Plata and Paraná rivers, as well as the incorporation of Entre Ríos into the Trunk Navigable Waterway through the opening and maintenance of the Paraná Guazú, Paraná Bravo, and Pasaje Talavera.
Both private users and the provinces will have an institutional space for monitoring the concession contract, the Navigable Waterway Control Council, where they will receive information on the progress of the works and will be key participants in the debate on future updates to the waterway.