Transport in Paraguay

Paraguay's transportation system ranges from adequate to poor, largely depending on the region of the country. The country has a network of roads, railroads, rivers, and airports, but significant infrastructure and regulation improvements are needed.

Roads
Estimates vary on the total extent of Paraguay's road system, from more than 60000 km to less than 30000 km. The discrepancies seem to be the result of differing standards regarding what constitutes a road. Thousands of kilometers of unpaved rural roads exist. Paraguay has about 16630 km of paved, major feeder roads. The core network connects Asunción, Encarnación, and Ciudad del Este, on the border with Brazil, where it connects later with the Port of Paranaguá. In July 2023, the first duplicated highway in Paraguay was being created on the stretch of PY-02 closest to Asunción, and there were already 122 km duplicated. The Trans-Chaco highway is only partially finished, the paved portion ending at Mariscal Estigarribia. Bolivias portion of the highway, in contrast, is entirely paved. For trade purposes, the paved highways from Ciudad del Este to the Brazilian port of Paranaguá are particularly important. Additionally, the roads connecting Paraguay to Buenos Aires are adequate.

Route 15 has been one of the central points in the country's road advancement. This highway (currently under construction) is expected to become an international logistics center by becoming part of the Bi-Oceanic Corridor, and being the shortest passage between the Chilean ports of Antofagasta and Iquique on the Pacific Ocean and the Brazilian port of Santos on the Atlantic Ocean. In February 2022, Paraguay inaugurated 275 km of the road (about half of the route), connecting Carmelo Peralta (Alto Paraguay), on the border with Brazil, to Loma Plata (Boquerón), in the center of the country.

* Estimated

Source:

Railways
The government owns the country's sole railroad company, including a 438 km line from Asunción to Encarnación. An effort to privatize the company in 2002 failed when no buyer could be secured because of the steep investment required to make the line profitable. Currently, only a small section of the line is open. It is used for tourist traffic. Paraguay's railroads operate on a standard 1.435-meter gauge.

The total length of rail in Paraguay is 971 km. 441 km of that is standard gauge at. Another 60 km is narrow gauge at, and 470 km of the total railway is privately owned.

Inland waterways
Paraguay has 3100 km of inland waterways. The Paraguay and Paraná are the country's two main rivers. The Paraguay River, with headwaters at Mato Grosso, Brazil, flows southward, converging with the Paraná in southwestern Paraguay, and then flowing to the Río de la Plata estuary in Argentina, the entrance for the great majority of ships servicing Paraguay's ports.

Ports and harbors
Villeta, located on the Paraguay River south of Asunción, serves as Paraguay's primary port. Asunción, long the country's only modern port, Encarnación (on the Paraná River), and San Antonio serve as the country's other major ports. Paraguay's ports are split between state and private ownership. The country's twenty private ports, however, are far more efficient, handling nearly 90% of soybean exports.

Merchant marine
Total: 110

Container ship: 3

General cargo: 25

Oil tanker: 5

Other: 77 (2021)

Airports
As of 2013, Paraguay has 799 airports but only 15 with paved runways. The airport serving Asunción, Silvio Pettirossi International Airport, is the country's major airport for international and domestic flights. Another airport is Guaraní International Airport, located near Ciudad del Este and the Brazilian border, but it has been unable to compete with the nearby international airport at Foz do Iguaçu in Brazil. Improvements in technology are needed to bring Paraguay's airports up to international standards. Paraguay privatized the state-owned Líneas Aéreas Paraguayas in 1994.