Central Aguirre Portuaria - II

completed

Puerto Aguirre is an inland river port in eastern Bolivia, located on the Tamengo Canal, a tributary of the Paraguay-Parana international waterway. Barge convoys connect Puerto Aguirre to other ports on the Paraguay-Parana waterway in Paraguay and to Buenos Aires, Argentina (about 2,500 km distant). Rail and highway links connect Puerto Aguirre to the interior of Bolivia and Brazil as well as coastal ports in Brazil and Chile. The town of Quijarro, population about 16,000, abuts the site and is on the main highway that connects Brazil and Bolivia. Corumba, the business center of the region (population about 100,000) is about 10 km by road from the site in Brazil. Because the project is on an international waterway as defined in IFC policy OP 7.50, the IFC Executive Directors representing the other riparian countries have been notified as per the policy.Puerto Aguirre started operations in 1988 mainly as a grain export transshipment facility (rail to trucks), and with a small barge terminal handling grain and general cargo. IFC first invested in the port in 1992 for expansion of the company’s grain terminal. The port has since expanded operations within the 206 ha site to include vegetable oil and diesel fuel handling. It also operates as a commercial and industrial free zone, under a 40-year concession awarded in 1991 from the Government of Bolivia.The proposed project is the expansion of the port facility and the adjacent free zone. It includes: extension of the facilities of the free zone to allow more storage space; expansion of the bulk terminal for handling soy products and general cargo; and expansion of the diesel fuel terminal by constructing two additional storage tanks and improvement of existing facilities. The proposed expansions and improvements are expected to be completed by 2003. Expansion of facilities will take place within the existing site, without additional land acquisition.