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 on Tuesday.
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 would include the dredging and buoying of the Paraguay and Parana rivers and would call for the participation of the world's top river-maritime operators.
The cabinet chief said privatization would entail significant upgrades to the trade route, including new satellite and radar systems for ship tracking and new signage and control measures aimed at fighting drug trafficking.
(Reuters - Reporting by Walter Bianchi; Writing by Brendan O'Boyle; Editing by Sarah Morland and Kylie Madry)