Kicillof Calls for Progress on the Magdalena Canal to Unify Argentina's Navigable Waterway

The Governor of the Province of Buenos Aires, Axel Kicillof, called for progress on the Magdalena Canal during his address at the Federal Logistics Summit organized by the Federal Council of Investments (CFI). The governor described the project as central and essential for integrating Argentina's maritime and river logistics.

Kicillof argued that the country is divided in terms of maritime and river logistics because connecting Argentina's main rivers to the sea currently requires passing through foreign jurisdiction, referring to the Punta Indio Channel and waters shared with Montevideo's jurisdiction. The governor noted that the main navigable channel is not currently unified with the ports of Buenos Aires Province and those further south, and described the Magdalena Canal as a fundamental project for development, integration, settlement and sovereignty.

The proposal was framed within a broader description of a world order undergoing reconfiguration, marked by trade, financial and technological disputes. Kicillof pointed to tensions over the Panama Canal, various ports, and the Strait of Magellan, placing them on the same plane as China's New Silk Road and a U.S. initiative for a corridor between the Andes and the Atlantic, under the premise that a country either plans or is planned by others.

The governor linked the call for the Magdalena Canal to the need for a federal infrastructure and logistics strategy. He also criticized the halt in national public works and stated that there are no provincial solutions for national strategies, noting that certain projects go beyond local jurisdictions and require comprehensive planning.

Kicillof highlighted that Buenos Aires Province has 27 ports, the country's longest maritime coastline, 30 shipyards, more than 100 ship repair workshops, 40,000 kilometers of road network and 15,000 kilometers of rail lines, although he noted that less than half of that network is currently operational. According to the governor, one obstacle to advancing the Magdalena Canal is that the main navigable waterway has already been granted under a 25-year concession to a private operator, under a scheme that does not include this project, which would require deciding whether it should be tendered separately, how it would be financed, and who would be charged the toll.