USD 100 million for water and sanitation works

CAF, Latin American Development Bank, subscribed a contract with theAdministracion de las Obras Sanitarias del Estado(OSE, for its acronym in Spanish) (State's Sanitary Works Administration) for USD 100 million, to partially finance the Program to improve and rehabilitate the potable water and sanitation systems according to the priorities of OSE's Five-Year Investment Plan.

The signature of the agreement took place in the Ministry of Economy and Finance of Uruguay, and was carried out by CAF's Director Representative in Uruguay, Gladis Genua; OSE's President, Milton Machado; OSE's General Secretary, Gustavo Perez Vilche; and the Minister of Economy and Finance of Uruguay, Fernando Lorenzo, representing the Oriental Republic of Uruguay as a guarantor of the loan.

"The main objective is to contribute to the improvement of the life conditions of Uruguayans through the expansion and improvement of coverage, quality, efficiency, and reliability of the potable water and sanitation services in the country", explains Gladis Genua, CAF's  Director Representative in Uruguay, who highlighted the social character of the Program.

Genua stated that in the past five years, CAF has been working with OSE in other projects linked to potable water and sanitation, such as the Project for the Treatment and Final Disposal of Effluents of the Maldonado-Punta del Este System, among others.

Genua stated that, "CAF's comprehensive agenda to promote sustainable development and regional integration makes a special emphasis on social inclusion and the protection of the environment. In this regard, it addresses the subject of water through four lines of action: management and protection of basins; irrigation and agricultural development; drainage and flooding control, and potable water and sanitation services, supporting projects in order to guarantee universal access and to optimize the quality of the provision of potable water and sanitation services, thus improving the social, environmental, and competitiveness conditions".

At the same time, the President of OSE, Milton Machado, pointed out that, "the investment is aimed partly to the treatment plants of Salto, Paysandu, Mercedes y Colonia", and that these works "improve the environmental and life quality, as the effluents are thrown with a high level of purity in order to preserve the environment". Machado also pointed out that, "raising the elevation of the Paso Severino reservoir will be financed, reinforcing the structure of the dam", which is "fundamental to increase the storage capacity of gross water".

Specifically, the Program foresees the financing of potable water investment works, such as the increase in capacity of the dam, and safety of the Paso Severino reservoir, support for the Plan for the Normalization of Settlements, the rehabilitation of three re-pumping stations, and the diversion of a pumping line. In addition, within the country it includes: the expansion and rehabilitation of the purification plant located in the city of Paysandu, the construction of two new purification plants located in the cities of Melo and Mercedes, and the improvement of the purification and distribution systems of various cities within the country.

With respect to sanitation, the operation includes the execution of a set of investments and priority projects located within the country, such as the construction of six treatment plants for residual waters, and the expansion and rehabilitation of networks in the cities of

Salto, Fray Bentos, Mercedes, Colonia, Paysandu, and San Gregorio de Polanco; support for the National Plan for Connection to Sanitation, and the construction of regional environmental laboratories.

In addition, the program includes a component for the improvement of OSE's Management through the construction and implementation of a new Data Center.