Interest is strong in the contract to design the new bridge planned to span the Paraguay River, connecting Brazil with Paraguay. The tender process is open at present, with five consulting engineer consortia so far having presented bids for the design work.
The bridge will link Carmelo Peralta in Paraguay with Porto Murtinho in Brazil. Building the bridge is expected to cost around US$75 million. Funding for the project is being provided by Itaipu.
On the Brazilian side, the bridge will connect with the existing route 267. However on the Paraguayan side, there will have to be extensive road building work to improve connections with the country’s major network. Only minor roads currently connect Carmelo Peralta to the rest of Paraguay.
Building the new bridge will help improve trade and transport between the two countries, developing economic activity in the surrounding areas of both nations.
