en.Wedoany.com Reported - The Uruguayan delegation to the Administrative Commission of the Uruguay River (CARU) is drafting new tender documents for an international public tender aimed at maintaining dredging on the Uruguay River. This follows an agreement between Uruguay and Argentina to extend the current contract with Jan De Nul for one year.
Cecilia Bottino, head of the Uruguayan delegation to CARU, confirmed this in an interview with Carve radio. She explained that the two delegations reached an understanding on the dredging agreement signed in 2022, which allows for a one-year extension of the existing concession, with the possibility of an additional similar period. Bottino stated that Uruguay's intention is to limit the current contract extension to one year, until 2027, after which a new international tender process will proceed. She noted that the agreement reached involved the participation of both countries' foreign ministries and considered the economic adjustments requested by the concessionaire; the difference between the current payment amount and the adjusted amount will be covered by CARU.
Bottino emphasized that one of the reasons for drafting new tender documents is the need to incorporate technological advances and update conditions in the existing documents. Within this framework, an inter-institutional working group has been established to define Uruguay's position in the future international tender. This process has received technical support from the Ministry of Transport and Public Works, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the National Ports Administration (ANP), the National Navy through the Aids to Navigation Service (Serba), and the Navy's Oceanography, Hydrology, and Meteorology Service (Sohma). She explained that for Uruguay's stance in the upcoming new international tender, it is crucial to establish a strong working group to define new conditions and make improvements based on the existing tender documents.
Regarding the time needed to reach the extension agreement, Bottino stated that one of the reasons is related to Jan De Nul's involvement in Argentina's ongoing Vía Navegable Troncal (Main Waterway) tender process, in which the company has invested significant resources over the past few months. According to Altamar News, the contract extension will allow dredging work to continue while preparing for the future international tender. This measure aims to maintain the continuity of navigable conditions on the Uruguay River, ensuring a draft depth of 23 feet (7 meters) to the port of Concepción del Uruguay and 17 feet (5.2 meters) to the port of Paysandú. For both Uruguay and Argentina, the continuity of these works is strategically important for waterway operations and port activities along the river, providing predictability for the regional logistics system and export operations that utilize this waterway.
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