Chile, Peru see desal as the solution to water scarcity

Authorities from Chile and Peru highlighted the advance of desalination projects in the two countries, stating that these plants will become more important in the coming years due to ongoing water scarcity, which is expected to worsen due to climate change.

During a congress held by the Latin American desalination and water reutilization association (Aladyr) in Santiago, Chile's public works undersecretary, Lucas Palacios, highlighted that the country has high potential for desalination projects, due to its extensive coastline and the fact that many of its major cities are close to the sea.

Discussing the current state of desalination in the country, Palacios said that the country produces "around 300,000m3 of desalinated water per day. In the next five years that figure number could surpass 1Mm3 per day."

On the regulatory front, the official said that the state "has a subsidiary role" in desalination and must also promote desalination technologies.

"We have 28 desalination projects, 20 in operation and eight under development. There should be a lot more, for both human consumption and industry," he said.

Aside from this, Palacios said that the government is currently studying the use of desalination in energy generation processes.

According to the undersecretary's presentation, of the eight desalination projects currently being developed in the country, four are aimed at human consumption in urban areas (with a combined capacity of 1,380l/s), three are for human consumption in rural areas (547l/s) and the last is the US$250mn concession for a desalination plant in the Atacama region that was awarded last year under the concessions system.

PERU LOOKS TO PPP MODEL

At the same event, the head of the Peruvian housing ministry's construction and sanitation projects unit, Julio Kosaka, said that his country, like Chile, has strict regulation on handling water sources in arid areas. "We have to look towards desalination," he said.

He added that the ministry has a "very attractive plan regarding what we want to do with desalination in 10 coastal regions," which entails US$2bn in investments, of which half are in PPP projects.

Kosaka highlighted the role of PPPs in covering Peru's water deficit, which still requires US$15bn in investments, he said.

"What we're doing is promoting private investments, while the government makes regulatory changes" to promote the mechanism, he said.

On that note, he said that Peru also has a US$200mn PPP portfolio in wastewater treatment plants, which involves nine different projects.