MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

All set for Montevideo to become Bolivia's access to the Atlantic Ocean

“The international shipping companies overseas confirmed Montevideo's storage capacity,” Díaz explained.

Two riverboat shipping companies are interested in carrying cargo from Bolivia through the Paraná-Paraguay waterway to the port of Montevideo, Uruguay's National Ports Administration (ANP) president, Alberto Díaz, said Wednesday.

Díaz described as “very good news” the announcement that the Bolivian ports of Aguirre and Gravetal were recategorised by the government of Evo Morales as international, as well as that of Jennefer. The three terminals are located in the department of Santa Cruz, on the Tamengo canal, head of the waterway.

The initiative “will contribute to Bolivia having an outlet for the Paraná-Paraguay waterway to the Atlantic Ocean, more advantageous than it was until now,” explained Díaz.

From a logistical point of view, the new developments favour fluvial operations and create an alternative route to the traditional exit through the Pacific Ocean through the Chilean port of Arica, it was reported.

In order for the Bolivian cargo to be moved in containers, Uruguay “needed a regular riverboat line and that the international shipping companies overseas confirmed Montevideo's storage capacity,” Díaz explained upon returning from a successful mission in Santa Cruz de la Sierra, where the two companies expressed their interest in the routes.

One of the firms is Vessel SA, which already has a riverboat cargo service between Paraguay and Uruguay and seeks to commence activities before the end of the year.

The other company is Flumar SA, which is not yet present in the market and intends to start activities in the first months of next year.

Diaz said that the ANP contacted the overseas international shipping companies MSC, Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd, and they all gave Montevideo a green light.

“We have to continue working so that the private sector recognises the potential in the Bolivian cargo,” Díaz pointed out. He added that “now comes a stage to analyze the possible flow of merchandise and analyze costs, among other variables.”