Adopting responsible environmental planning in Asuncion, Paraguay
Cargill is committed to helping preserve the local environment and complying with all legal and environmental requirements in relation to a planned grain terminal in Zeballos Cué on the Paraguay River in Asuncion, Paraguay.
The medium-sized grain terminal, a joint venture with Paraguayan company Puerto Zeballos, will have two barge loading facilities and an overall storage capacity of 64,000 metric tons.
We are working closely with local authorities to ensure compliance with all mandatory requirements and permits. In particular, we are working with ESSAP (the Water Regulatory Agency) and SEAM (the Secretary for Environmental Affairs) to ensure compliance with new, more stringent environmental requirements being developed that will become standard for all port facilities in Paraguay.
For example, we will install permanent and floating barriers to protect the water intake from the possibilities of physical damage and releases of materials from barges that serve the terminal or otherwise ply the waters of this active port area. We will provide equipment to enable the ESSAP to monitor water quality. A state-of-the-art dust collection system will prevent any impact to air and water quality during grain transfer from the terminal to the barges. To further preserve water quality, barges will not be cleaned or repaired at the terminal.
Cargill also is investing in and supporting improvements to the local infrastructure in Zeballos Cué. We will construct a 3.5 kilometer, two-way access road and a parking facility to improve traffic flow to and from the port. We also will construct a new school, a first aid center and fire and police stations, as well as improve the district with new public squares and parks.