Bolivia: Misicuni tunnel opens Saturday beginning water supply to Cochabamba

The main 19-kilometer transfer tunnel of the Misicuni Multiple Project will be opened Saturday April 16. The tunnel will supply water to the city and valley of Cochabamba. At a total cost of over US$61 million, the work was financed by the Andean Development Corporation (CAF), the Bolivian State, and the Italian government.

The work on the main 19-km tunnel was concluded with CAF financing. The tunnel will carry water to the SEMAPA plant which, after treatment, will supply about 400 liters a second to the inhabitants of the south area of the city of Cochabamba.

The Project was conceived to exploit the waters of the Misicuni River with a view to supplying the city of Cochabamba, generating hydroelectricity, and irrigating crops in the Cochabamba Valley. The first phase of the project was the building of the transfer tunnel.

The US$14.9-million CAF loan financed the lining of the tunnel, the works of the Immediate Plan, construction of the Sinergia-Barrilete conduction line and inspection of the works.

Under the Immediate Plan, connection works were executed to send the drain waters of the tunnel to the SEMAPA purifying and processing plants for the water supply to the city of Cochabamba.

The Andean Development Corporation also supported the environmental studies for the harmonious development of the dam and provision of benefits to the population, as well as the use of the reservoir and the integrated management of the river basins. CAF also committed a further US$7 million for construction of the dam.