Water & Waste: The week in 10 stories

BRAZIL

Espírito Santo state is set to create an infrastructure fund and a sovereign wealth fund.

Rio de Janeiro governor Wilson Witzel has come out in favor of privatizing state water utility Cedae.

Corsan, the water utility serving Rio Grande do Sul state, expects to sign the long-awaited contract for a public-private partnership in capital Porto Alegre in early 2020.

CHILE

Italian firm Astaldi is demanding compensation from the public works ministry (MOP) over alleged design errors in the La Punilla reservoir concession.

President Sebastián Piñera unveiled a US$6.1bn plan to build 26 water reservoirs, of which US$823mn will be spent on projects carried out during the current administration.

The environment ministry (MMA) published a draft version of its climate change bill that would establish the country’s obligation to have a long-term climate strategy.

EL SALVADOR

The Sembrando Vida (Sowing Life) reforestation program, which is already up and running in southern Mexico, will be replicated in El Salvador under a deal between the presidents of the two countries.

MEXICO

By the time Mexico City’s Emisor Oriente drainage tunnel starts operations its design will already be outdated, according to a government official.

PANAMA

Three multipurpose reservoirs will be built to guarantee sufficient water supply for the canal and for public consumption in the area near the waterway.

The process to tender a sewerage contract in Panama province attracted the attention of 12 local and international firms.