en.Wedoany.com Reported - The contract for dredging and navigation aid works on the international waterway connecting Laguna Merín and Laguna de los Patos, which links Uruguay and Brazil, was officially signed on June 10. Guillermo Valles, former Uruguayan ambassador to Brazil, disclosed this progress, describing it as an unprecedented milestone in the long recovery process of this channel, reflecting progress and sustainability.
The contract was published on June 10 in the Brazilian government's official gazette, the Diário Oficial da União. According to the document, Eco Prime Engenharia Ltda will be responsible for preparing the execution project and carrying out dredging and navigation aid works on the navigable channel of the Laguna Merín waterway, covering the San Gonzalo Canal, the Sangradouro Canal, and the access channel to the port of Santa Vitória do Palmar in the state of Rio Grande do Sul.
The execution period runs from June 2026 to November 2028, with an investment of nearly $10 million. The project aims to restore commercial navigation conditions between Laguna Merín and Laguna de los Patos, connecting northeastern Uruguay with the logistics network of southern Brazil. Previously, the Lagoa Mirim Consortium, formed by Eco Prime and Petcon, had won the tender for dredging and navigation aid works issued by Brazil's National Department of Transport Infrastructure (DNIT) on April 1 of this year.
Valles stated that the signing of the contract marks a turning point in the decades-long cooperation process between the two countries. He noted that this is the first time the project has entered an actual execution phase, with budget funds allocated and a formal decision made to proceed with the restoration of the waterway. This waterway has existed in Brazil for over a century, but maintenance work was interrupted in the early 2000s. In the second half of the 20th century, the importance of river and lake transport declined due to the development of road infrastructure, leading to the gradual abandonment of this logistics channel.
The restoration of dredging and navigation aids is seen as an opportunity to enhance the competitiveness of the agricultural export sector in northeastern Uruguay. The departments of Rocha, Cerro Largo, Treinta y Tres, Lavalleja, and Rivera are potential primary beneficiaries of this waterway connection. If the channel achieves full navigability, it could open up transport alternatives for regional products and deepen logistics integration between Uruguay and Brazil.
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