Ciudad Juárez wastewater project moves forward

Ciudad Juárez’s water utility JMAS is about to launch the supervision and construction tenders to replace four large sewer mains in the northwestern area of the border city in northern Mexico’s Chihuahua state, involving US$26mn.

“Construction is expected to begin in the last quarter of 2022,” North American Development Bank (NADBank) deputy managing director John Beckham told BNamericas. 

NADBank announced on June 9 that it was providing financing for the wastewater project, along with two other green works on the US side of the city that add up to US$300mn.  

In a statement, the bank said it will provide US$11.5mn to the local utility through its border environment infrastructure fund to start the project, while an additional loan for up to US$15.4mn from North American finance corporation Cofidan will also be facilitated so JMAS can complete the work. 

Beckham said contracts for the environmental management system (EMS) will be signed next and the work’s supervision and construction tenders be launched, supervised by the local utility.

Replacing four large sewer mains in Ciudad Juárez will involve renewing almost 19,000m of sanitary pipelines and the construction of new settling boxes, according to NADBank’s certification and financing proposal. 

The project will prevent the potential discharge of up to 22.8mn gallons per day of untreated wastewater that could impact the Rio Grande river, as the existing sewer mains have deteriorated and are prone to leaks and failure.