Signing of the Agreement for the Extension of the International Concession Contract of the São Borja – Santo Tomé International Bridge and Connected Infrastructure between Brazil and Argentina

The Minister of State of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Carlos Alberto Franco França, and the Minister of Foreign Affairs, International Trade and Worship of the Argentine Republic, Felipe Carlos Solá, signed on July 19, in Rio de Janeiro, an Agreement for the Extension of the International Concession Contract of the São Borja - Santo Tomé International Bridge and Connected Infrastructure.

The concession contract for the bridge between São Borja and Santo Tomé and the respective Unified Border Center (where customs clearance of imports and exports is done in an integrated manner by Brazilian and Argentinean authorities) will expire in August 29. The bridge was built by a private consortium as part of a 25-year concession contract.

Through the agreement signed today, Brazil and Argentina instruct the Joint Commission formed by representatives of both governments to negotiate, with the consortium, the extension of the concession contract of the São Borja – Santo Tomé International Bridge and the respective Unified Border Center (CUF) for an additional period of 365 days, renewable for up to another 365 days. Once negotiated, the contract must be approved internally by the two states.

Around 15% of all international trade between Brazil and Argentina passes through the CUF. This border point has been the priority choice for exports, by road, of Brazilian products with higher added value. The extension of the agreement guarantees the continuity and regularity of foreign trade operations, including flows of goods, means of transport, and movement of people.

According to the agreement, the Brazilian-Argentine Joint Commission for the São Borja-Santo Tomé Bridge should also propose strategies and procedures for the continuity of activities in the period after the extension. This initiative will ensure an orderly transition to the future management model of the bridge and the CUF that Brazil and Argentina may agree.