Concepción

Concepción, town, north-central Paraguay. It lies on the east bank of the Paraguay River. Founded in 1773, it was the base of operations for the entire Chaco Boreal region of Paraguay. It is a transportation hub from which roads run in several directions; the General-Bernadino Caballero highway extends to Pedro Juan Caballero and to Brazil. The navigable Paraguay River creates commercial shipping activity in the town’s port. The town contains sawmills, flour mills, cotton gins, sugar and castor-oil refineries, and tanneries that process hides from cattle raised in the region. Concepción is also a free port for trade with Brazil. As seat of the bishop of the Chaco, it is a religious centre and has a Catholic Salesian school and church. Concepción is connected by air to Asunción, the national capital. Pop. (2002) urban area, 43,661.