With an investment of 284 million dollars, it will reach 61 locations
President Lacalle Pou led the conference in which the Government announced the completion of the first stage of the universal sanitation plan in Uruguay. The strategy implies the access of 61 localities to this improvement, with 42 residual liquid treatment plants, 110 pumping wells and 844 kilometers of sanitation networks. The users who will be able to access the new connections amount to 54,850.
In his speech, Lacalle Pou reported that the OSE board voted favorably to start the first stage of the sanitation network in towns in the interior, a plan that will involve the work of some 2,000 people.
He also pointed out that this phase was reached after hard work by all participating agencies, which required a detailed analysis of each locality.
The president indicated that the tender will begin in February 2023, and recalled that OSE is developing another large-value project, such as the one that will execute the Arazatí water intake. “We are very pleased with the work done,” he said.
It is the largest environmental investment in history
In his speech, the Minister of the Environment, Adrián Peña, celebrated the announcement and pointed out that it required two years of work by technicians and leaders of the Environment and OSE. In addition, he recalled the investment of 250 million dollars that will be made in the intake and purification of water from the Río de la Plata, which added to this project, totals an investment of 500 million dollars. “It is the most important environmental investment in the history of Uruguay”, he valued.
The minister also stated that this measure implies a comprehensive public health policy, since great sanitation coverage will be achieved in the country. “That is an improvement in the quality of life for those who have less,” he added.
Regarding the beginning of the works, he stated that they are expected to begin at the end of 2023, and that the call for bidders will be international, and private initiative. Regarding the financing, he indicated that the State will begin to pay for the work when it is available to operate, and that the payment term is about 25 years. However, he remarked that the final details will be known in the bidding document that will be opened next February.
“This is the sanitation plan that Uruguay already has, what the Government is doing is advancing the pace of execution,” he concluded.
The total investment amount for this national project amounts to more than 284 million dollars.
Lacalle Pou y Peña was accompanied at the conference held this Wednesday the 28th at Torre Ejecutiva by the Secretary of the Presidency, Álvaro Delgado; the president of OSE, Raúl Montero, and the vice president of that body, Susana Montaner.
