On April 19, 2023, the House of Representatives passed a Bill[1] approving two loan agreements entered into by the Republic of Paraguay, the first with the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) for an amount of up to USD 115,000,000, and the second with the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) for an amount of up to JPY 9,130,000 (approximately USD 66,000,000) (the "Loans"). The purpose of the Loans is to finance a project for the provision of potable water and sanitation services for the metropolitan area of Ciudad del Este (the «Project»).

The Project seeks to cover the lack of potable water service coverage in the metropolitan area of the country's second largest city, which currently accounts for only 30% of potable water coverage through public supply networks; the remaining 70% of the demand is obtained from other sources, such as shallow wells in backyards or independent suppliers.

El Proyecto estará a cargo del Ministerio de Obras Públicas y Comunicaciones (MOPC) a través de la Coordinación de Agua Potable y Saneamiento y Obras Hidráulicas (CAPSOH). El llamado a licitación está previsto para la segunda mitad del año, ya con el nuevo gobierno. La licitación será lanzada bajo la modalidad de «Licitación Pública Internacional» (LPI).

The Bill will be approved on April 28 and then will require enactment by the Executive Power. It is estimated that the total value of the Project will reach USD 200 million and will benefit about three-hundred thousand inhabitants.

For more information on the Project please contact Rodolfo G. Vouga (rgvouga@vouga.com.py), Manuel Acevedo (macevdo@vouga.com.py), Carlos Vouga (cvouga@vouga.com.py), Luis Marcio Torales (lmtorales@vouga.com.py), Juan Manuel Ros (jros@vouga.com.py) ) or your usual Vouga contact.

[1] File No. S-221781. To access the text of the Bill please see the following link: http://silpy.congreso.gov.py/expediente/125458