Brazil Pushes Rio Paraguai Waterway Concession to First Half of 2027

Overview

• The Ministry of Ports and Airports revised its timetable to target auctions for the Rio Paraguai and several northern waterways in the first half of 2027 while aiming to publish concession editais later in 2026.
• The concession dossier is under analysis at the Tribunal de Contas da União (TCU) and the government expects the Agência Nacional de Transportes Aquaviários (ANTAQ) to set regulatory rules because most navigable space lies in Brazilian territory.
• Brazil is negotiating governance rules with Paraguay and Bolivia and officials say they hope to close a draft agreement in June and seek parliamentary approvals in the second half of 2026.
• The projects remain in the concessions pipeline despite the earlier revocation of decree 12.600 after indigenous protests, and the government says it will deepen public dialogue and socio‑environmental studies before moving forward.
• Industry groups led by MoveInfra hired Garín Partners to map bottlenecks and evaluate seven waterway systems on social, operational, economic and regulatory axes, work that could shape concession design and affect freight tariffs, dredging responsibilities and export routes to Arco Norte ports.