Chile supreme court rejects challenge to US$500mn desal project

Chile’s supreme court has rejected a legal challenge to the environmental approval of the US$500mn Enapac desalination plant. 

The 2,630l/s plant is expected to become part of the largest desalination complex in Latin America.

A group of fishermen that work in the plant’s vicinity in Atacama region filed the measure, requesting to void the approval given by environmental evaluation agency SEA in 2018. 

The fishermen claim they were excluded from the citizen participation and that the project violated land use regulations.

An environmental tribunal had previously rejected the claims, whose ruling the supreme court now confirmed.

The court ruled that it wasn’t necessary to launch a consultation in a specific place, as the fishermen claimed, and that the coastal land use regulations were followed.

Rodrigo Silva, the president of Trend, which builds the plant, said in a press release that the ruling “reaffirms our conviction as project leaders that we have carried this project in a correct manner and think about sustainable development for Atacama region.”

Enapac involves a desalination plant with s 600,000m3 reservoir and which will be powered by a 100MW photovoltaic plant. 

A source close to the project, requesting anonymity, told BNamericas that “some things are still missing to have complete clarity” on the construction starting date. 

Specifically, the source said the environmental evaluation of two distribution pipelines for US$950mn needs approval.