The bill which proposes an ambitious plan to reactivate the “Presidente Carlos Antonio López” Railway -one of Paraguay's emblematic institutions- was approved by the Chamber of Deputies last Wednesday, May 9, and is now before the Executive. The proposal came from the Executive Power itself, which, through Ferrocarriles del Paraguay S.A. (FEPASA) -a Paraguayan State company holding the concession for the provision of railway services in the Republic-, has been working on the rehabilitation of the railroad, in a first section which will be under the modality of “commuter train” and would mobilize thousands of Paraguayans every day.

The main features of the reactivation plan, which could be in place by 2020, would be as follows:

• The section would run some 44 kilometers from the central station at Plaza Uruguaya in Asunción to Ypacaraí;
• It would total eight main stations and between 12 and 15 stops;
• The trains would be all-electric (non-polluting), and would have a single body and three to four joints;
• It would depart every five minutes during peak hours, carrying up to 280 passengers at a time.

The railroad rehabilitation plan would also contemplate the relevant social solutions for those who currently occupy the railroad tracks, as well as the protection of the cultural heritage, which would not be affected by the installation of the system but, on the contrary, it is intended to revalue it.

With respect to investment, the business model governed by Law 117/91 of joint venture or risk-sharing. In this way, it would seek to have the support of private investors to cover operating costs, recovering investments over the 30-year term of the contract, in addition to a reasonable profit from payments made by users. Should this not be sufficient, they would receive a subsidy from the State for each ticket sold. The pre-qualification process for interested parties began in 2015 and four groups of companies have already been pre-qualified, although the company is seeking to attract more interested parties.

Should you have any questions about this project or other projects, please do not hesitate to contact us.