“We’re very close to launching the Freight Clearinghouse so that it can work, make it easier for those who use the broker to use the system and get rid of all the red tape,” the official said.
Chassagnez added that the project would have a single procedure at origin or destination and the importer and exporter would determine where they would pay their duties.
In an interview with the Bolivian TV channel, he explained that the country receiving the resources is responsible for passing on the amounts, be it operating or maintenance fees, to the other nations through which the cargo is transported.
With an investment of 18 million bolivianos (more than two million 500 thousand dollars), before the investment, technical design studies of the Bulo Bulo-Puerto Villarroel and Ivirgarzama-Villa Tunari railway sections, sections I and II, which are part of the Corridor Railway Bioceanic, were carried out.
These segments will unify and consolidate the project in the Bolivian part.
Chassagnez pointed out that the studies must be completed before the end of the year in order to start financing and construction of the remaining sections.
Bolivia was chosen to coordinate the regional integration project resumed by President Luis Arce’s government after democracy was restored.
After the coup in November 2019 and the establishment of the de facto government of Jeanine Áñez (2019-2020), this project was put on hold.
Important progress has been made in the Brazilian part and the solution to the political crisis in Peru is expected to progress, it said.
According to official figures, the Bi-Oceanic Integration Rail Corridor will reduce costs and time in international cargo transportation as it will give Bolivia direct access to ports in the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans.
In July 2022, Minister of Public Works, Services and Housing Édgar Montaño reported that the national government would invest more than 3.2 billion Bolivians (about $457 million) in the construction of this railway by 2025.
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