Waterway Transport

Brazil has approximately 40,000 km of waterways, 14,000 km of which are suitable for navigation. The main waterways are in the following hydrographic regions: Amazon (19,000 km), Tocantins (3,200 km), São Francisco (2,000), Paraná (2,400 km), Paraguay (3,400 km), Southern Coastal (1,300 km) and Uruguay (1,200 km).

A unique natural factor influenced the development of inland waterway transport in Brazil is the fact that most of the highly developed regions aren’t served by navigable rivers that could be used to transport goods to the seaports. That’s the case, for instance, in the metropolitan regions of São Paulo and Belo Horizonte. This reality conditioned the development of inland waterways and opened the way for the highway building policy that has been prevalent these last decades.

On the other hand, in the Amazon region, navigation has an essential role naturally guaranteed by the favorable hydrographic conditions of the region, with approximately 19,000 km of waterways, amongst the Amazon, Solimões, Negro, Branco, Madeira, Purus, Juruá, Trombetas, Jari, Tapajós, Xingu, Guama and Capim rivers.

Ministry of Transport data show that the waterway sector accounts for only 0.9 %, of the transport matrix of Brazil, carrying, in 2001, only 25 million tons of cargo on inland waterways. This is insignificant in terms of total cargo transported within the country. On the other hand, the development of the waterways is considered strategic as a means of making the country more competitive in the international grain market. This would include the implementation of the following waterways: Amazon; Tietê-Paraná; Paraguay as far as Corumbá, and the Araguaia-Tocantins.