Northern Ports

Port general description

The northern area of the country has an exit towards the sea through the ports on the Paraná and Paraguay rivers. The region occupies approximately 26% of the country’s area and is traversed by the Uruguay, Pilcomayo, Bermejo, Paraguay and Paraná rivers, the latter two navigable and which transport part of the production of Bolivia, Paraguay and the southern Mato Grosso. The following provinces form part of the region: Jujuy, Salta, Tucumán, Santiago del Estero, Formosa, Chaco, Corrientes, Misiones and the northern area of Santa Fe. Also the region is bounded by four other countries: Chile, Bolivia, Paraguay and Brazil. The region has a population of almost 9.200.000 (approximately 20% of the country’s total population) and eight capital cities with populations ranging from 220.000 and 811.000.

The road network in the region links the main consumer and production areas although there are more roads in a north-south than east-west direction. There are links with the main ports in northern Chile, the Bolivian cities of La Paz and Santa Cruz de la Sierra and with Asunción, capital of Paraguay. The railway network is developed towards the west and there are connections between Bolivia and some Chilean ports with the ports of Barranqueras and Formosa. The railway network in the eastern provinces of Corrientes and Misiones is not connected to the former network because the only bridge that crosses the Paraná river in this area is, for the time being, only for road traffic. However, it is connected with Paraguay and Brazil. There are nine international airports (Cataratas del Iguazú, Posadas, Corrientes, Paso de los Libres, Resistencia, Formosa, San Miguel de Tucumán, Salta and San Salvador de Jujuy), and another 18 public airports with paved airstrips. Even though there are several ports on the Paraná and Parguay rivers, Corrientes, Barranqueras and Reconquista are, because of their infrastructure and location, the most used for significant movements of products involved in foreign trade.