EXCLUSIVE: Jan De Nul’s maintenance works on Paraná River start in August

For the next 25 years, Jan De Nul will be responsible for deepening, modernizing and maintaining Argentina’s main waterway under a concession agreement that allows the company to collect toll fees from passing vessels. The company has maintained the Paraná River since 1995.

The concession for the 1,400-km-long Paraná River forms part of the Hidrovía Paraguay–Paraná, an inland waterway system connecting the Paraguay and Paraná rivers. This waterway enables large-scale cargo transport between inland regions of Brazil, Bolivia, Paraguay and Argentina to ports on the Atlantic Ocean.

The maintenance works under this concession are scheduled to start in August 2026, with key development phases, such as deepening of the channel, expected to be completed by 2031.

During the first years of the concession, Jan De Nul will deepen the navigation channel. This will allow larger vessels to access inland ports, improve logistics efficiency, reduce transport costs, and support export growth. 

Beyond dredging, the concession includes a comprehensive modernization of navigation and monitoring infrastructure. According to Jan De Nul, this includes the replacement and maintenance of 1,150 navigation buoys and updating the existing system to monitor variables like water level, volume and speed.