The Port of Rosario is an inland

port A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as H ...

and a major goods-shipping center of

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest ...

, located in the city of

Rosario Rosario () is the largest city in the central Argentine province of Santa Fe. The city is located northwest of Buenos Aires, on the west bank of the Paraná River. Rosario is the third-most populous city in the country, and is also the most p ...

province A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions out ...

of Santa Fe, on the western shore of the

Paraná River The Paraná River ( es, Río Paraná, links=no , pt, Rio Paraná, gn, Ysyry Parana) is a river in south-central South America, running through Brazil, Paraguay, and Argentina for some ."Parana River". Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Br ...

, about 550 km upstream from the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...

Overview

The port is the largest of a series located in the several cities of the

Greater Rosario Greater Rosario is the metropolitan area of the city of Rosario, in the province of Santa Fe, Argentina. This metropolis has a population of about 1.3 million (1,276,000 million inhabitants) thus being Argentina's third most populated urban ...

that lie on the Paraná; the last (northernmost) able of overseas traffic being

Puerto General San Martín Puerto General San Martín is a small city in the province of Santa Fe, Argentina, located within the metropolitan area of Greater Rosario, about north from the center of the city of Rosario, on the western shore of the Paraná River. It has a po ...

(23 km upstream from Rosario). It is part of the Bi-Oceanic Corridor that joins the Atlantic with the

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the conti ...

via Buenos Aires, Rosario, Córdoba, the Cuyo region and

Valparaíso Valparaíso (; ) is a major city, seaport, naval base, and educational centre in the commune of Valparaíso, Chile. "Greater Valparaíso" is the second largest metropolitan area in the country. Valparaíso is located about northwest of Santiago ...

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the eas ...

; going north–south it forms the axis of the

Paraguay Paraguay (; ), officially the Republic of Paraguay ( es, República del Paraguay, links=no; gn, Tavakuairetã Paraguái, links=si), is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to t ...

-Paraná Hydroway. It directly services the area of Santa Fe that produces a large part of Argentine exports, and indirectly the whole

Mercosur The Southern Common Market, commonly known by Spanish abbreviation Mercosur, and Portuguese Mercosul, is a South American trade bloc established by the Treaty of Asunción in 1991 and Protocol of Ouro Preto in 1994. Its full members are Arge ...

trade bloc A trade bloc is a type of intergovernmental agreement, often part of a regional intergovernmental organization, where barriers to trade (tariffs and others) are reduced or eliminated among the participating states. Trade blocs can be stand-alone ...

. In 2003 the traffic in the port amounted to 2.9 million

tonne The tonne ( or ; symbol: t) is a unit of mass equal to 1000 kilograms. It is a non-SI unit accepted for use with SI. It is also referred to as a metric ton to distinguish it from the non-metric units of the short ton ( United State ...

s. At this point of the course of the Paraná (Kilometer 420) lies the depth transition between overseas and river navigation. The main channel of the river directly in front of the port has an advantageous configuration that allows to preserve a depth of 34 feet with minor periodic

dredging Dredging is the excavation of material from a water environment. Possible reasons for dredging include improving existing water features; reshaping land and water features to alter drainage, navigability, and commercial use; constructing d ...

. This allows for downstream navigation of vessels up to

Panamax Panamax and New Panamax (or Neopanamax) are terms for the size limits for ships travelling through the Panama Canal. The limits and requirements are published by the Panama Canal Authority (ACP) in a publication titled "Vessel Requirements". ...

kind. The Paraná is about 600 m wide at Kilometer 418 and becomes 2,000 m wide downstream.

Cargo Cargo consists of bulk goods conveyed by water, air, or land. In economics, freight is cargo that is transported at a freight rate for commercial gain. ''Cargo'' was originally a shipload but now covers all types of freight, including tra ...

from other parts of Argentina is brought into the port by the

railway Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a p ...

lines of the

Nuevo Central Argentino Nuevo Central Argentino S. A. (abbreviated NCA) is an Argentine company that utilises the operation and infrastructure of the national railway system of the former Mitre Railway division of Ferrocarriles Argentinos, by a concession granted on 23 ...

, communicating with Córdoba (west) and Zárate, Buenos Aires Province (south), as well as the multiple national and provincial roads and highways that converge in Rosario. Communication with the north-eastern part of the country was enhanced by the 2003 opening of the

Rosario-Victoria Bridge Rosario-Victoria Bridge (in Spanish, ''Puente Rosario-Victoria'') is the informal name of the physical connection between the Argentine cities of Rosario (province of Santa Fe) and Victoria (province of Entre Ríos). This roadlink is compos ...

, that joins the city with the province of Entre Ríos. The Rosario International Airport (located 15 km east) has also been refurbished to work with cargo traffic. The facilities were opened in 1852 partly as a hedge against the political and armed conflicts that ultimately led to the

Federalization of Buenos Aires Federalization, in Argentine law, is the process of assigning federal status to a territory with the purpose of making that territory the national capital. Federalization of Buenos Aires politically separated the city from the Buenos Aires Provinc ...

. The rapid development of

Argentine agriculture Agriculture is one of the bases of Argentina's economy. Argentine agriculture is relatively capital intensive, today providing about 7% of all employment,

after 1875 led to the port growth into a significant role in the nation's burgeoning grain exports sector, in subsequent decades. The Port of Rosario was nationalized in 1942 and by 1960, it had overtaken the

Port of Buenos Aires The Port of Buenos Aires ( es, Puerto de Buenos Aires) is the principal maritime port in Argentina. Operated by the ''Administración General de Puertos'' (General Ports Administration), a state enterprise, it is the leading transshipment point fo ...

as the nation's leading grain export hub.

Administration

The Port of Rosario has, since 1994, been managed by ENAPRO (''Ente Administrador del Puerto Rosario''), a public company overseen by the provincial government, which grants concessions as appropriate to private companies. The first bid was won in 1998 by International Container Terminal Services (ICTSI), managers of the Port of

Manila Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is highly urbanized and, as of 2019, was the world's most densely populated ...

and of a terminal in the Port of

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...

. ICTSI's Argentine subsidiary, Puerto Rosario S. A. (PROSA), faced labour conflicts and strikes after firing a number of port terminal workers it had promised to keep. It also failed to pay the royalties due to the ENAPRO and to perform the agreed investments. In 2000 the concession was revoked. In 2002 a new company, Terminal Puerto Rosario S. A. (manager of the Port of

Tarragona Tarragona (, ; Phoenician: ''Tarqon''; la, Tarraco) is a port city located in northeast Spain on the Costa Daurada by the Mediterranean Sea. Founded before the fifth century BC, it is the capital of the Province of Tarragona, and part of Tarr ...

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , ...

) was awarded the concession of Terminals 1 and 2 of the port for 30 years. In October 2005 the National Secretariat of Ports and Navigable Ways ordered the beginning of works to dredge the Paraná to a depth of 34 feet, in the first stage, and later to 36 feet, downstream from Puerto General San Martín; this will allow for cargo vessels of up to 50,000

s. The 34-feet stage (allowing for 46,600-tonne ships) was completed in August 2006. La Capital, 29 Oct 2005
''Hidrovía: empezaron los trabajos de profundización''
. More Information
PUERTO ROSARIO

References

{{Coord, 32, 58, 14, S, 60, 37, 06, W, display=title

Transport in Rosario, Santa Fe Buildings and structures in Rosario, Santa Fe 1852 establishments in Argentina River ports