After the privatization of the Paraná-Paraguay Waterway, the Government is now moving forward with the bidding process to dredge and widen the Martín García Channel in the Río de la Plata. According to a notice published this Monday in the Official Gazette, two companies have advanced in the bidding process, which will be finalized next week with the submission of financial bids.
Of the three companies that submitted bids, Jan De Nul, the Belgian firm that last week won the concession for the Paraná-Paraguay Waterway for a period of 25 years, and Boskalis International Uruguay, which operated the same channel between 1999 and 2013 under the name Riovía, remain in the running. The Chinese firm CHEC Dredging was disqualified due to technical non-compliance related to the age of the equipment offered.
The next step, according to the official document, will be the opening of the financial bids, scheduled for June 25. The contract will have an initial duration of five years, with the option to extend for another five.
According to Resolution 14/2026 issued on June 12 by the River Plate Administrative Commission (CARP), the technical phase has concluded with two qualified bidders. According to the evaluation committee’s ruling, CHEC was excluded because the company submitted equipment more than 30 years old—exceeding the limit set in the tender specifications—without proposing valid replacements.
The tender covers the section between kilometer 39, in Barra del Farallón, and kilometer zero of the river. This corridor is of strategic importance because it serves as the natural outlet for the entire waterway basin to the Atlantic Ocean, and its operational depth determines the cargo capacity of vessels navigating the main waterway.
The new concessionaire of the waterway
Last week, the Ministry of Economy confirmed the awarding of the Paraná-Paraguay Waterway concession to the Belgian company Jan De Nul, along with its local partner Servimagnus. The companies will operate under a new entity called Vía Navegable Argentina (Argentine Waterway), which will be responsible for the operation, maintenance, and modernization of the river corridor for the next 25 years.
The official statement indicated that the bidding process did not receive any objections from the participating companies, thus validating the technical assessments issued at each stage.
The winning bidders reported that the project will generate direct and indirect employment for more than 600 people and anticipates a 13.5% reduction in logistics costs. The contract, whose signing is expected within a maximum of 30 days, includes dredging works and the incorporation of technology for navigational safety and combating drug trafficking.
According to the official statement from the Ministry of Economy, these works will allow ships to complete loading at their ports of origin, impacting logistical savings, expanding the productive frontier, and enhancing the competitiveness of Argentina’s productive and industrial sectors. Support for the process included the Argentine Oil Industry Chamber, the Cereal Exporters Center, the Argentine Industrial Union, the Rosario Stock Exchange, the Chamber of Private Commercial Ports, the Chamber of Port and Maritime Activities, and the provincial governments of Entre Ríos, Santa Fe, Corrientes, Chaco, Formosa, and Misiones.
Jan de Nul won the concession for the Paraná-Paraguay Waterway after outperforming its only competitor, the Belgian company Dredging, Environmental & Marine Engineering (DEME). Although both companies submitted the same financial bid, during the technical evaluation of the concession, Jan de Nul obtained 66.20 points and DEME 42.14. That’s why the difference was resolved by the technical score, where Jan De Nul surpassed DEME by more than 24 points out of a possible 80. The waterway stretches for 1,635 kilometers and handles the Atlantic outlet for 80% of Argentina’s exports, especially grains and industrial products shipped from the Rosario terminals. It is also used by cargo from Brazil, Bolivia, Uruguay, and Paraguay, countries that, along with Argentina, signed the international agreement regulating navigation and commercial transport in the region in 1992.