Water and Waste: The Week in 10 Stories

COLOMBIA

Colombia’s transport ministry ordered the indefinite closure of a 1.5km stretch of the Bogotá-Villavicencio highway that has been hit repeatedly by mudslides in recent weeks.

The senate approved a bill to prohibit the sale and distribution of mostsingle use plasticand polyethylene items on the San Andrés and Providencia archipelago.

BRAZIL

The head of Corsan, the water utility of Rio Grande do Sul state, defended the structuring of a public-private partnership to bring sanitation services to 100% of the population of capital Porto Alegre’s metropolitan region.

The national treasury suggested Minas Gerais privatize state-run companiesin order to ease its tight financial situation.

CHILE

Peruvian mining firm Hochschild signed a letter of intent with Chilean engineering company TRENDS Industrial that would make the future ENAPACdesalination plant a water supply option for its Volcán gold project in northern Chile’s Atacama region.

The environment ministry unveiled the draft of a decree to set waste collection and recycling requirements for businesses whose products use packaging.

PARAGUAY

The government unveiled a US$1.5bn high-impact investment program to boost the domestic economy this year and next, with the bulk of the funds (US$1.2bn) being allocated for 2019.

ARGENTINA

Argentina’s treasury ministry signed a guarantee agreement with the OPEC Fund for International Development (OFID) to allow Córdoba province to access a US$60mn loan from the fund for wastewater expansion works.

PANAMA

PresidentJuan Carlos Varela, who leaves office on June 30, visited some of the water projects that are being built under the 100% potable water coverage program launched at the beginning of his administration in 2014.

REGIONAL

Climate-related financing from the world’s largest multilateral development banks reached an all-time high of US$43.1bn during 2018, a 22% increase from the previous year.