Transportation is at the heart of the IIRSA initiative. The vast majority of IIRSA projects revolve around transportation of some type, but for the sake of simplicity they are divided here into three main areas: Air Transport, Maritime Transport and Multi-modal Transport.
Air transport projects mostly address infrastructure, capacity and/or management of airports and strips. Projects exist to expand old airports and associated facilities, build new ones, and concession government-run airports to private sector interests. This sub-sector represents only a small percentage of all IIRSA transport projects and investment.
Maritime transport projects mainly relate to the expansion, rehabilitation, and privatization of sea ports, as well as to the harmonization of regulations governing international maritime trade. This sub-sector represents the continent’s main mode of exporting and importing goods.
Multi-modal transport projects include road, rail, and riverine port projects that are linked together into project clusters or systems that are meant to facilitate the transport of goods, people, and natural resources across the continent. These projects include the rehabilitation, creation and/or privatization of transnational highway and rail systems, the dredging and alteration of rivers for large-scale cargo transport, and the construction of river ports. They are highly integrated with each other and with IIRSA airport and seaport projects, as well as with other sector projects.