Brazil and Uruguay are working towards the transformation of social and economic dynamics of the southernmost border. The Project Via Transcampesina: Rota da Produção e Integração Regional (Rural Feeder Road for Production and Regional Integration), promoted by the Intermunicipal Public Consortium for the Economic, Social, and Environmental Development of the Municipalities of the Jaguarão River Basin (CIDEJA), seeks to pave 165 km of rural roads in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, connecting five Brazilian municipalities with the Uruguayan border.

FONPLATA granted an initial USD198,000-non-reimbursable technical cooperation financing, which will fund the engineering studies of the priority section (approximately 52 km). These studies are necessary to submit the project to the MERCOSUR Structural Convergence Fund (FOCEM), which could provide up to USD 15 million for the project's execution.

The rural feeder road crosses a historically underserved region with low industrialization, poor road infrastructure, and a heavily agricultural economy. Paving this corridor will cut travel times in half, reduce supply chain expenditure, improve the competitiveness of agricultural, dairy, and horticultural products, boost production chains, generate employment, strengthen physical and commercial integration, and generate regional impact and multilateral commitment.

The works planned with FOCEM financing could directly benefit more than 29,000 people and indirectly benefit more than 600,000 inhabitants of the region. The project is also in line with the strategic objectives of FONPLATA and MERCOSUR, which are to promote social cohesion, regional integration, and sustainable development.

Within the framework of its Institutional Strategic Plan, FONPLATA's strategic objective is to focus on projects that promote geographic integration and productive development in the countries of the region.

06/10/2025