Rosarito desal plant construction to begin next year

Construction of the first phase of a desalination plant in Playas de Rosarito municipality in Mexico’s Baja California state is reportedly set to begin early next year.

Financial closure is underway and expected to conclude by the end of this year, Milton Rubio, director of the plant’s concessionaire Aguas de Rosarito, told local press.

The special purpose vehicle (SPV) obtained the construction and operating contract under a public-private partnership (PPP) model in 2016. The 40-year contract includes three years for design and construction and 37 years of operation and maintenance, before handing it over to the state.

Responding to recent criticism about alleged irregularities in the creation of Aguas de Rosarito, Rubio said the establishment of the firm complied with all relevant regulations, with all information being publicly available on the company’s website.

The Aguas de Rosarito consortium comprises French firm Degrémont, a subsidiary of water solutions powerhouse Suez group, Consolidated Water subsidiary NSC Agua and Singapore's Nu Water. Baja California’s water commission CEA has approved that global investment management firm BlackRock can join the SPV after financial closure.

The facility will become the largest desalination plant in the hemisphere. It will meet the Tijuana-Rosarito beach region's water needs for the next 50 years, benefitting over 1.7mn residents in the cities of Rosarito, Tijuana and Tecate.

Through the use of reverse osmosis technology, the facility will in a first stage have production capacity of 2,200l/s.

Project progress

At the end of March, the Baja California congress allowed state authorities to obtain the revolving credit facility necessary to secure payments for the 37-year operating period. Authorities are reportedly in the process of obtaining that new facility, which is expected to be concluded before a new state administration takes office in November.

Congressional authorization also enabled the company to proceed with securing the remaining debt financing and the rights-of-way for the pipeline, Consolidated Water CEO Rick McTaggart said in an earnings call earlier this month.

According to McTaggart, a major lender has approved up to US$200mn in debt financing, which covers a significant portion of the amount required to complete the first phase.

In addition, the state government has obtained permits to abstract the seawater for the desalination process and to discharge the concentrated seawater that is a byproduct of the desalination process, the CEO said.

PICTURED: A rendering of the plant. CREDIT: Aguas de Rosarito.