New funds for development of Yacambú-Quíbor system

In a ceremony at the CAF headquarters, the president of this multilateral financial institution, Enrique García, signed an agreement with the minister of the Environment, Ana Elisa Osorio, and the general director of public finances, Jesús Bermúdez, for the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, and the president of the Yacambú-Quíbor Water System, Franklin Quintero.

García said the CAF was pleased with its backing for this ambitious infrastructure project which will promote the agricultural development of the Quíbor Valley and supply water from the Yacambú River to the city of Barquisimeto and other localities in the central-western region of Venezuela. The CAF has backed the development of the Yacambú-Quíbor Water System through a series of loans totaling US $125 million, including the current one.

The core components of the Yacambú-Quíbor project are the construction of a 162 meter-high dam on the Yacambú River and a reservoir with a storage capacity of 435 million cubic meters, which will supply 10.4 cubic meters of water per second to the Quíbor Valley through a 24.3-kilometer long tunnel.

The project, which could be completed by 2006, will benefit the city of Barquisimeto – with a population close to one million - by providing a permanent water supply for industrial, service and domestic use.

In addition to financing the civil works of the project, the CAF loans have assisted the Yacambú River Basin Conservation Program, which is an important component of the project aimed at improving the environmental and social conditions of its area of influence.