After years of construction and months of phased testing, the new Ponte Internacional da Integração—linking Foz do Iguaçu (Brazil) to Presidente Franco (Paraguay)—finally opened to private cars on Monday, 14 September. Yet in the first two hours of operation not a single vehicle crossed the 760-metre cable-stay span, underlining just how formidable the administrative requirements remain. Under the pilot regime, only pre-registered residents of four border cities (Foz do Iguaçu, Ciudad del Este, Presidente Franco and Hernandarias) may use the bridge between 07:00 and 13:00. Every occupant of the vehicle—including children—must carry a Documento de Trânsito Vicinal Fronteiriço (DTVF), national ID and the Mercosur “Carta Verde” insurance. The DTVF takes up to 72 business hours to issue and costs R$ 63.85 on the Brazilian side; Paraguayan authorities have controversially set their fee at two daily minimum salaries (about ₲ 234,000), prompting Brazil to invoke reciprocity rules in talks within the bilateral Joint Commission. Revenue officials say 100 % of cars will be physically inspected, and no commercial goods may be transported—only personal items of subsistence. Trucks continue to use the bridge at night (18:00–05:00) but must be empty on entry; loaded cargo traffic remains on the older Ponte da Amizade. The tight controls are designed to calibrate inspection capacity and gather data before the bridge is fully opened to tourists and cross-border shoppers, likely later this year. For local businesses, the slow start is a double-edged sword. Retailers in Ciudad del Este fear the paperwork will deter Brazilian shoppers, while Brazilian hoteliers hope streamlined customs will eventually attract new visitors. Multinationals operating logistics hubs in the tri-national area should review routing options: once passenger traffic is smooth, authorities intend to shift a share of containerised freight to the new span, easing congestion on the Amizade Bridge. Companies with cross-border assignees should inform staff that the DTVF is personal—not linked to the vehicle—and must be obtained in both countries. Failure to carry the permit could result in immediate fines and denial of entry. HR and travel-management teams are therefore advising mobile employees to maintain up-to-date digital copies of all documents and to allocate extra time for inspections during the trial phase.
Source: Foz & Fronteira
