The Minister of Public Works, Édgar Montaño, stated that the officials of the Beni Government demanded a small bridge, however, thanks to the efforts of President Luis Arce, a large viaduct will be built. “This large bridge will also allow river navigation, furthermore, we are looking at the technical aspects so that the bridge is round-trip, and has a round trip exclusive lane for motorcycle taxi drivers,” Montaño said in an interview to the Bolivia TV state channel. He described that the bridge will also have another exclusive lane for the transit of people and walks as it will also have tourist purposes.

“Bolivia, Beni, Guayaramerín and, in addition, the State of Rondonia (Brazil), now have a large bridge with the same conditions that Brazil has built on the same river in Brazilian territory, so now we have a large bridge,” the Minister emphasized, and highlighted the fact that the bidding process will take between four to six months, the same time required by those of other countries in the region.

He went on to add that the viaduct will be built under the “turnkey” or “comprehensive tender” modality, which will allow the modifications proposed by Bolivia to be incorporated into the project, allowing the company undertaking the construction to make the bridge higher and longer as needed.

The Minister recalled that Brazil will invest up to 70 million dollars on this work, a historic commitment established in the Treaty of Petrópolis of 1903.

Bolivia and the Brazilian Government reactivated this agreement in 2007, but the project was shelved after former President Jair Bolsonaro took power. Presidents Arce and da Silva reactivated it, and after a telephone conversation last Thursday, they agreed on the terms of the “comprehensive bidding” for the construction with the adjustments suggested by the Bolivian side.

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