Editing Transport in Paraguay

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[[Image:Carreteras Duplas de Paraguay 2025.jpg|thumb|right|[[Dual carriageway]] highways in Paraguay, in red]]
'''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.<ref name="cp">[https://www.loc.gov/rr/frd/cs/profiles/Paraguay.pdf Paraguay country profile]. [[Library of Congress]] [[Federal Research Division]] (October 2005). ''This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the [[public domain]].''</ref>

== Roads ==
[[Image:Rutas Nacionales del Paraguay.PNG|400px|right|thumb|Paraguay National Routes.]]
Estimates vary on the total extent of Paraguay's road system, from more than {{convert|60000|km|mi}} to less than {{convert|30000|km|mi}}. 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 {{convert|16630|km|mi}} of paved, major feeder roads. <ref>[https://www.mopc.gov.py/index.php/red-vial Red Vial de Paraguay]</ref> The core network connects [[Asunción]], [[Encarnación, Paraguay|Encarnación]], and [[Ciudad del Este]], on the border with Brazil, where it connects later with the [[Port of Paranaguá]]. In 2024, the first [[Dual carriageway|duplicated highway]] in Paraguay was created, the [[Route 2 (Paraguay)|PY-02]].<ref>[https://www.mopc.gov.py/index.php/noticias/obras-de-la-ruta-py02-ahorran-mas-de-1-hora-de-viaje-en-el-tramo-ypacarai-caaguazu Obras de la ruta PY02 ahorran más de 1 hora de viaje en el tramo Ypacaraí –Caaguazú]</ref> The [[Route 9 (Paraguay)|Trans-Chaco highway]] is only partially finished, the paved portion ending at [[Mariscal Estigarribia]]. [[Bolivia]]{{’}}s portion of the highway, in contrast, is entirely paved. For trade purposes, the paved highways from Ciudad del Este to the [[Brazil]]ian port of [[Paranaguá]] are particularly important. Additionally, the roads connecting Paraguay to [[Buenos Aires]] are adequate.<ref name=cp/>

[[Route 15 (Paraguay)|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 [[Central Bi-Oceanic railway|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, Brazil|Santos]] on the [[Atlantic Ocean]].<ref>[https://www.mopc.gov.py/index.php/noticias/en-brasil-destacan-avance-del-corredor-bioceanico-y-sus-vetanjas-para-el-comercio-internacional En Brasil destacan avance del Corredor Bioceánico y sus vetanjas para el comercio internacional]</ref> In February 2022, Paraguay inaugurated 275&nbsp;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.<ref>[https://www.mopc.gov.py/index.php/noticias/primer-tramo-del-corredor-bioceanico-ya-es-una-realidad-que-cambiara-la-historia-del-chaco Primer tramo del Corredor Bioceánico ya es una realidad que cambiará la historia del Chaco]</ref>

{| class="wikitable"
|-
| bgcolor="#E4E4EA" rowspan="2" align="center" | '''Classification''' ||bgcolor="#E4E4EA" align="center" colspan="2" | '''Length'''
|-
| bgcolor="#E4E4EA" align="center" | '''Km (mi)''' || bgcolor="#E4E4EA" align="center" | '''%'''
|-
| National Routes || 4,444 (2,761)|| 7.6
|-
| Departmental Routes || 5,333 (3,314)|| 9.2
|-
| Minor roads || 13,419 (8,338) || 23.1
|-
| Not inventoried minor roads* || 35,000 (21,748) || 60.1
|-
| '''Total:''' || '''58,196 (36,161)''' || '''100'''
|}
<small>''* Estimated''<br />
''Source:''<ref>[http://dircaibea.org/documentos/vol03.pdf Organización Administrativa y Sistemas de Gestión del Mantenimiento]. Dirección de Vialidad de Chile (November 1997). {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110814162250/http://dircaibea.org/documentos/vol03.pdf |date=2011-08-14 }}</ref>
</small>

== Railways ==
{{main|Rail transport in Paraguay}}
The government owns the country's sole railroad company, including a {{convert|438|km|mi|adj=on}} 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.<ref name=cp/>

The total length of rail in Paraguay is {{convert|971|km|mi}}. {{convert|441|km|mi}} of that is [[standard gauge]] at {{RailGauge|sg}}. Another {{convert|60|km|mi}} is [[Narrow-gauge railway|narrow-gauge]] at {{RailGauge|1000mm}}, and {{convert|470|km|mi}} of the total railway is privately owned.

== Inland waterways ==
[[File:Sunset over the river Paraguay at Concepción.jpg|thumb|The River Paraguay at the town of Concepción]]
Paraguay has {{convert|3100|km|mi}} of inland waterways. The [[Paraguay River|Paraguay]] and [[Paraná River|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.<ref name=cp/>

== Ports and harbors ==
[[File:Puerto de Asunción - panoramio (1).jpg|thumb|The Asunción port in 2011]]
[[Villeta]], located on the [[Paraguay River]] south of Asunción, serves as Paraguay's primary port. [[Asunción]], long the country's only modern port, [[Encarnación, Paraguay|Encarnación]] (on the [[Paraná River]]), and [[San Antonio, Paraguay|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.<ref name=cp/>

== Merchant marine ==
''Total'': 110

''Container ship'': 3

''General cargo'': 25

''Oil tanker'': 5

''Other'': 77 (2021)<ref name=":0">{{Citation|title=Paraguay|date=2021-11-16|url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/paraguay/#transportation|work=The World Factbook|publisher=Central Intelligence Agency|language=en|access-date=2021-11-21}}</ref>

==Airports==
{{main|List of airports in Paraguay}}
[[File:Aeropuerto Internacional Silvio Pettirossi International Airport.jpg|thumb|Silvio Pettirossi International Airport in 2021]]
As of 2013, Paraguay has 799 airports but only 15 with paved runways.<ref name=":0" /> 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 [[Foz do Iguaçu International Airport|airport at Foz do Iguaçu]] in Brazil{{citation needed|date=May 2023}}. Improvements in technology are needed to bring Paraguay's airports up to international standards. Paraguay privatized the state-owned [[Líneas Aéreas Paraguayas]] in 1994.<ref name="cp" />

== See also ==
* [[Paraguay]]
* [[Rail transport by country]]

==References==
<references/>

==External links==
*{{Commons category-inline|Transport in Paraguay}}

{{CIA World Factbook}}
{{Paraguay topics}}
{{Americas topic|Transport in}}
{{National Roads in Paraguay}}

[[Category:Transport in Paraguay| ]]