MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Brazil and China to assess railroad to Peru feasibility

The Integration Routes project is one of four strategic axes signed between Presidents Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Xi Jinping

Authorities from Brazil and China signed this week an agreement to start the studies for the construction of a railway connecting the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, which would bring South America's largest country closer to the Asian giant trade-wise.

On the Brazilian side, the Bioceanic Railway will begin in the city of Lucas do Rio Verde, in the state of Mato Grosso, and pass through the border with Bolivia, cross the entire state of Rondônia, and continue through southern Acre, near the Peruvian border. From there, the line will extend to the port of Chancay, built by China and inaugurated a few months ago.

The project aims to integrate Brazil’s West-East Integration (Fiol), Center-West Integration (Fico), and North-South Railway (FNS).

The memorandum was signed at the Ministry of Transport in Brasília. The studies will be carried out by Infra S.A., a state-owned company under the Brazilian Ministry of Transport, and the China Railway Economic and Planning Research Institute.

The Bioceanic Railway will be part of the South American Integration Routes, a project led by Brazil’s Ministry of Planning and Budget. Launched in 2023, the initiative prioritizes works under the Growth Acceleration Program (PAC) to connect road, river, and rail networks in border areas with neighboring countries.

Through the memorandum, the Chinese state-owned company will conduct in-depth studies of the Brazilian rail network, based on two pillars: the multimodal nature of the transport system, integrating roads, railroads, waterways, ports, and airports; and the existing works and projects in the country.

Presently, the entire route of the future Bioceanic Railway is served by Brazilian and Peruvian federal highways, with full integration via Brazil’s BR-364 and BR-317 roads and Peru’s Irsa Sur highway, extending to Chancay, just 70 kilometers from the Peruvian capital, Lima.

In the specific case of the Bioceanic Railroad, the new design proposed by Brazil was extensively debated with government authorities and the Peruvian Congress.

The Integration Routes project is one of four strategic axes signed between Presidents Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Xi Jinping as part of the Brazil-China agreement in November 2024. In addition to the Integration Routes, the pact includes the New PAC, New Industry Brazil, and the Ecological Transformation Plan. (Source: Agencia Brasil)

(See also: Brazil eyes railroad to Chancay to facilitate trade with China)