Land Minister meets incoming Paraguayan president

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Land Minister meets incoming Paraguayan president

Published: 15 Aug. 2023, 17:06 Updated: 15 Aug. 2023, 18:10

JIN MIN-JI
jin.minji@joongang.co.kr

Land Minister Won Hee-ryong, right, poses for a photo after delivering President Yoon Suk Yeol's letter to incoming Paraguayan President Santiago Peña Palacios as a special envoy to attend Pena's inauguration ceremony in this photo provided by Won's office on Aug. 15, 2023.

Land Minister Won Hee-ryong met with incoming Paraguayan President Santiago Peña Palacios and discussed Korean companies' participation in the South American country's light rail project, Won's office said Tuesday.

Won paid a visit to Peña on Monday and asked for support for efforts to enact a special bill helping South Korean companies win the $600 million project to build a 45-kilometer (27.9-mile) light rail line between Asuncion, Paraguay's capital, and Ypacarai.

Korean companies, including the state-funded Korea Overseas Infrastructure & Urban Development, the Korea National Railway, Hyundai Engineering and Kye-ryong Construction Industrial Company, have formed a public-private partnership to win the project.

Since signing a memorandum of understanding with Seoul's transport ministry in September 2021, the Paraguayan government has tabled a special bill on cooperation with South Korea for the project, but the bill is currently pending in congress.

At Won's request, Peña said he will "actively support" the legislation, saying the project will modernize Paraguay's infrastructure and help South Korean companies break into the Central and South American region, according to the land ministry.

If Korea wins the bid, it will mark the first export of the country's comprehensive railway system.

Won also delivered President Yoon Suk Yeol's letter to Peña as a special envoy to the inauguration ceremony of the Paraguayan president set to take place Tuesday (local time). The content of the letter was not immediately known.

Yonhap