In a quiet, wild region of Paraguay known as the Chaco, construction workers are slowly patching together a straight line of asphalt and railroad tracks that will ultimately run over 2,300 miles from the Atlantic to the Pacific, slashing through Brazil, Paraguay, Argentina, and Chile. Proponents hope the road and railway line, known as the Bi-Oceanic Corridor and planned to be completed by late 2026 or early 2027, will cut down the time it takes goods to travel to Asia by two and a half weeks.
The Inter-American Development Bank provided a $200 million loan for a particularly difficult and critical part of the project’s infrastructure in Paraguay as part of its new “South Connection” plan. Using digital and transit infrastructure, as well as regulatory integration, the plan aims to link South American countries and correct the continent’s severe lack of trade routes, which have led to it having a fraction of the trade enjoyed by Europe or Asia.
The philosophy of South Connection is that deeper regional integration — roads, ports, energy grids, and digital networks — boosts growth and attracts investment. While the push now is to tackle persistent challenges such as high trade costs, weak logistics, and slow economic growth, it also comes at a time when many governments in the region are friendly to private investment and business interests.