CIUDAD DEL ESTE

Itaip Dam on the Upper Paran River, north of Ciudad del Este, Paraguay. Iguau Falls on the Iguau River at the Argentina-Brazil border. formerly Puerto Presidente Stroessner, city, eastern Paraguay. Founded in 1957, the city is situated on the right bank of the Paran River at the border with Brazil; it has been converted in only two decades from a tropical forest into Paraguay's second most important city after Asuncin, the national capital. Ciudad del Este's economy is based on the ceramic industry and increasingly on the production of canned food, particularly sausages. The major reasons for the city's rapid growth are its commercial connection with Brazil, symbolized by the 1,600-foot (500-metre) Puente de la Amistad (Friendship Bridge; opened 1964), and its association with the nearby Itaip Dam on the Paraguay-Brazil border, which is one of the largest hydroelectric facilities in the world (see photograph). Tourism also plays an important role in the city, and the Itaip Dam and Iquau Falls (see photograph) are popular attractions. Pop. (1990 est.) 110,584.