Proaguas program benefits Batallas

Batallas, a small town 65km from Bolivian capital La Paz, is the first to benefit from the US$31.5mn Proaguas program administered by the country's national production and social investment fund (FPS), Los Tiempos reports. The Batallas sewerage system is the first completed project of the Proaguas program to provide water and basic sanitation to Bolivia's rural communities. The program will comprise 454 projects in total. Project financing for Proaguas is provided by an Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) loan agreed with the national government in 2000. IDB has lauded the project for its ability to rapidly utilize financial resources to benefit populations of less than 10,000. Upon completion of all 454 projects, FPS will have provided access to potable water and sewerage to some 400,000 people.