Government of MS acts in Brasilia to ensure progress in the works of the bridge over the Paraguay River

The Government of Mato Grosso do Sul participated in a meeting at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs this Monday (6th), in Brasília, to address an amendment to the Brazil-Paraguay Agreement, which covers issues related to tax exemptions and facilitating the migration of workers, with the objective of creating the necessary conditions for the work on the bridge over the Paraguay River, which will connect the municipality of Porto Murtinho to the Paraguayan city of Carmelo Peralta, to move forward quickly on the Brazilian side in order to guarantee the conclusion of the works within of the established schedule.

The meeting in Brasilia was attended by Secretary Jaime Verruck, from Semadesc (Secretary for the Environment, Development, Science and Technology), who represented the Government of Mato Grosso do Sul; Minister João Carlos Parkinson de Castro; Minister Daniel Falcon Lins, from the Division of Bolivia, Ecuador, Paraguay and Peru, from the MRE; Alberto Zouvi, Legislative Consultant of the Federal Senate; Evandro Daltro, representing the binational PIBRA consortium (responsible for the bridge works); Enio Motta Junior, tax auditor of the Federal Revenue of Brazil, Deputy Superintendent of the Federal Revenue in the 1st Fiscal Region and consultants of the Federal Senate

“We prepared a proposal for an amendment on tax and migration issues. Progress on the bridge works requires facilitating the migration of Brazilian workers to Paraguay and from Paraguay to Brazil. Including so that we can absorb the workforce from Porto Murtinho. In addition, we also need to include in the agreement tax exemptions from ISS, ICMS and federal taxes on the inputs needed to build the bridge on the Brazilian side, as this already occurs on the Paraguayan side”, informed the secretary Jaime Verruck.

As a result, the text that will be delivered by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs was defined for due consultation with the ministries involved. It will then be forwarded to the Federal Senate to finalize the amendment to the international agreement between Brazil and Paraguay for the construction of the bridge.

The bioceanic link is a priority for Governor Eduardo Riedel. “The bridge over the Paraguay River is a priority project for our government and these issues involving the agreement between the two countries are fundamental for the progress of the works, which is why we are following closely. road to the bridge, so that the two works have the same conclusion schedule”, he said.

Secretary Jaime Verruck recalls that the current stage of construction of the bridge is 17% of the completed works. “The approval of the amendment, obviously, is a process that takes 6 to 7 months, but this does not compromise the progress of the works, given that we are even proposing a retroactivity of this tax issue so that we can move forward, as it was foreseen in the public notice ”.

Bridge over the Paraguay River

The bridge over the Paraguay River is essential for making the Bioceânica Route viable. The work is financed by the Itaipu Binacional plant in the amount of 616.836 million guaraníes (about US$ 90 million) and will have a total length of approximately 1,293 meters. On the Brazilian side, preparations are being made for the execution of the piles. The concrete batching plant is already set up on the Brazilian side, along with the support warehouses. The crossing of all this material to the Brazilian bank of the river was done on rafts.

According to the Ministry of Public Works and Communications of Paraguay, around 180 workers are directly involved in the work and to ensure the speed of the process, some teams work overtime, reports the The forecast is to conclude the works next year.

The Bioceânica Route is a 2,396-kilometer road corridor that will connect the two largest oceans on the planet, the Atlantic and the Pacific, starting in Brazil and arriving at the ports of Antofagasta and Iquique, in Chile, passing through Paraguay and Argentina.

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