Cadagua to build Talagante wastewater plant

Spanish construction company Ferrovial's water treatment subsidiary Cadagua will build a wastewater treatment plant in the Chilean town of Talagante, southwest of capital Santiago, Ferrovial announced. The 18mn-euro (US$22mn) plant will benefit 250,000 residents in five localities and take 20 months to build. It is one of 13 wastewater treatment plants for peripheral areas in the Metropolitan Region (RM) that local water utility Aguas Andinas is undertaking. All 13 should be operational by 2009 and, along with the US$150mn El Trebal plant that opened in December 2001, the US$315mn La Farfana plant that opened in October and the US$210mn Los Nogales slated to begin construction in 2007, will treat 100% of the RM's wastewater. Spain's Agbar and France's Suez control Aguas, which serves 5.9 million residents with 100% drinking water coverage through a 10,199km network and 97.3% sewerage coverage through an 8,465km network. Wastewater treatment coverage stands at 75%.