Tacachira wastewater treatment plant will benefit 18,000 El Alto residents

The Ministry of Development Planning (MPD) of the Plurinational State of Bolivia, the Ministry of Environment and Water (MMAA) and CAF—development bank of Latin America—signed today a USD 11.5 million loan agreement to finance the construction and commissioning of the Tacachira Wastewater Treatment Plant (PTAR), which will initially benefit 18,000 residents of Districts 7, 11 and 14 of El Alto, thus improving their health conditions and quality of life, by providing them with basic sanitation service and ensuring the collection, redirection and treatment of their sewage, which will then be discharged into the Seke River.

The event was held in the city of El Alto and featured the Minister of Development Planning, Carlos Díaz; the Minister of Environment and Water, Maria Elva Pinckert; the mayor of the Municipal Autonomous Government of El Alto (GAMEA), Soledad Chapetón; and CAF’s representative in Bolivia Gladis Genua. The total cost of the entire project will amount to over USD 15 million, of which CAF will cover 76.46%, with the rest (some USD 3.5 million) to be disbursed by GAMEA, the local counterpart. The project includes the construction of the plant, in two phases, and the laying of the 1.8-km pipe that will discharge the wastewater.

“In Latin America, much of wastewater receives no treatment, which impacts public health, the environment, natural resources and consequently, community productivity. Therefore, one of CAF’s main goals is to support these types of initiatives, which aim at improving the quality of life of locals, minimizing pollution and boosting the sustainable development of countries,” said Genua.

The city mayor said that this project is long overdue and much needed by the people of El Alto. “This plant and this investment are vital to our city, and that is why we have made the decision to take on this project, because it guarantees the operation of the sewerage in the northern part of the city of El Alto,” she added, as she thanked CAF for the support.

The Minister of Environment also noted that her office is focused on meeting the basic needs of the population. “We need to give the people what they need most: water, basic sanitation.  We are experiencing climate change, and we all need to do our part in taking care of the environment, our ecosystems and the land we live on,” he added.

The Minister of Planning emphasized that this investment is critical, because it focuses on improving the quality of life of El Alto residents. “Investments are being made in the health of our people, and these are environmentally friendly investments.”

The PTRA Tacachira project is aligned with the GAMEA Institutional Strategic Plan, as part of its “Modern City” program, which sets out the design and implementation of policies for prioritizing strategic projects in infrastructure and urban mobility, as well as solid waste, water and sanitation management.

Genua explained that the Tacachira PTRA project will influence districts 7, 11 and 14 of the northern region of El Alto. She recalled that work is already under way and that the plant would be built specifically in the 11th district, a rural area. Thus, the direct beneficiaries would be the—mostly urban—districts 7 and 14, with a combined population of 18,000 inhabitants. 

In the medium term, the plant will also benefit the 11th district, and is expected to serve by 2035 more than 71,500 residents, added the CAF representative.

El Alto has 14 districts, of which 10 are urban and 4 are rural, in the process of urbanization. The new plant will meet the needs of these three districts, as the rest uses the collector system that drains waste water to the Puchukollo Treatment Plant.

The Tacachira Treatment Plant and the associated pipe system will have an area of influence of 4,961 hectares. Disbursement of the financing and construction of the work is projected to be completed over the course of four years, when the installed flow capacity should be 140 liters per second, the waste water discharge into the plant reaches 90%, water-related diseases are reduced by 12%, in both districts, and 1,500 home connections are installed.

This project is consistent with CAF's line of action in the Water sector, in which the financial institution is the largest multilateral funder in this area of the country, thus assisting in its comprehensive development and betterment.