South Korea and Paraguay sign MOU to boost commuter train project

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – South Korea and Paraguay signed today in Seoul a memorandum of understanding (MOU) in infrastructure that will promote the commuter train project between Asunción and Ypacaraí, whose works could start next year.

The document was signed today in the South Korean capital in the presence of a large Paraguayan delegation that has traveled there, including the Minister of Public Works and Communications, Arnoldo Wiens Durksen, the President of the Senate, Óscar Salomón, and the President of Ferrocarriles de Paraguay (FEPASA), Lauro Ramírez López.

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At the signing ceremony, the South Korean Minister of the Ministry of Land, Transport and Infrastructure, Noh Hyeong-ouk, underlined the friendship between the two countries, whose bilateral relations will be 60 years old next year.

The Paraguayan delegation thanked the South Korean support to “carry forward an improvement of the transport infrastructure” with “South Korean quality and technology” to bring the train back to Paraguay.

In statements to Efe, Wiens Durksen highlighted the close cooperation between FEPASA and the Korea Overseas Infrastructure and Urban Development Corporation (KIND) to carry out and deliver the feasibility study in six months.

The minister considered this an important day for Paraguayans, “who know the importance of a railroad today with such congested traffic.”

“Today’s signature is to put on paper that will show in recent months and lay the foundation for what will be the work in the following months,” he added, recalling that the corresponding documentation must now be presented and approved in the Parliaments of both countries to make the agreement effective. “If everything goes well next year we want to start the work,” he said.

“What better way to celebrate 60 years of relations than by signing this agreement!”, explained, for his part, Salomón, who considered this agreement a first step towards making other “dreams” of the Paraguayans in this section come true, such as the establishment of a bi-oceanic train linking Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay and Chile.

The project for the 44-kilometer commuter train line could be executed in two phases, the first Asunción-Luque and the second, up to Ypacaraí, through a public-private alliance in which several Korean companies would participate under the umbrella of KIND.

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