Aguas Araucanía takes over Essar ops.

Southern Chile's Region IX state-operated water utility Essar transfered operating rights for 30 years to special-purpose company Aguas Araucanía on Monday (Aug.16). In June, Chile's Solari family - though the Aguas Nuevas consortium - presented the winning bid (US$172mn) to operate Essar, and the country's two other remaining state-operated water utilities, Region I's Essat and Region XII's Esmag. Local newspaper El Diario Austral quoted Aguas Nuevas president Piero Solari Donaggio as saying that US$75mn would be invested in the region through 2007, US$55mn of which will go to wastewater treatment and US$20mn to drinking water, maintenance and infrastructure replacement. Last month, Aguas Araucanía (then Aguas Novena) signed a US$72.5mn financing contract with a syndicate of local banks to finance the acquisition of operating rights for Essar. Until being taken over by its new operator, Essar served 581,000 residents with 100% drinking water coverage, 90.3% sewerage coverage and 13% wastewater treatment, according to the latest information from the SISS.