Argentina Pre-Awards $10 Billion Paraná River Contract to Jan de Nul Consortium

Argentina selected the Belgian-Argentine consortium to manage its most important grain export route for the next 25 years.

Aerial view of a boat sailing on the Paraná River near the Zarate port in Zarate, Argentina, on Sept. 18, 2025. Luis Robayo/AFP via Getty Images

Argentina has moved a step closer to handing a 25-year contract for its main export waterway to a consortium led by Belgian dredging company Jan De Nul.

The Economy Ministry said on Thursday that Jan De Nul and Argentine partner Servimagnus had been selected as the preferred bidder to dredge and maintain the Paraná River shipping channel, a route that carries most of the country’s grain exports to global markets.