Only One Bid, DEME, for Argentina River Dredge Contract

Belgian company DEME Group was the sole firm to bid in the Argentine government's tender for a major maintenance contract for the Parana waterway, a key route for grains transport, the government said on Wednesday.The bid could mark a major shakeup in dredging the river, part of a route from inland areas of Paraguay, Bolivia and southern Brazil out to sea. Argentina ships out some 80% of its massive farm exports along the waterway.Belgian rival Jan de Nul currently holds the concession to maintain the river and has for decades…
Argentina to Privatize Key Ag Transport Waterway

The Argentine government will call for a national and international public tender to privatize its stretch of the Paraguay-Parana waterway through a 30-year concession, cabinet chief Guillermo Francos said.The waterway, a natural river corridor that extends through the Parana and Paraguay rivers, is a key transport route to the sea from inland areas of Paraguay, Bolivia and southern Brazil.Argentina uses the 3,400 km-long (2,100 mile-long) waterway to move nearly 80% its foreign trade, including its massive farm exports such as processed soybeans, corn and wheat.Francos said the concession wou