Court clears financing deal for US$1.2bn Bogotá wastewater plant

An administrative tribunal in Colombia’s Cundinamarca department authorized regional autonomous corporation CAR Cundinamarca to sign a financing deal for the Canoas wastewater treatment plant. 

Previously, the entity hesitated signing the agreement because of legal uncertainty.

The court ruled the corporation can sign both the financing deal for the US$1.2bn Canoas plant and others for wastewater treatment plants planned along the Bogotá river, CAR Cundinamarca said in a press release.

Earlier this month, the corporation said the agreements were on hold after a ruling from the attorney general’s office, saying these agreements should only be signed once all studies and designs are complete.

CAR Cundinamarca had argued that the ruling was at odds with the criteria used to finance wastewater projects intended to clean up the Bogotá river following a 2014 court order, in which financing deals use 2011 designs as reference, on the condition that contractors must update the studies.

The corporation said the most recent ruling “sets a precedent against the attorney general’s thesis.”

Following the new court order, the financing deal for the Canoas plant will be signed before June 27, when the official campaign period for the regional elections begins.

In this deal, CAR Cundinamarca will provide US$500mn, with the Bogotá city government and the Cundinamarca departmental government covering the remainder.

With the legal clearance, the tender for the plant is expected for the second half of this year, while the contract would be awarded late 2019/early 2020.