El Salvador to kick off US$100mn water, sewerage plan

On Friday, through national water and sewerage utility Anda, the government of El Salvador will launch a project to rehabilitate the northern water and sewage system, which supplies 30% of the metropolitan area of capital San Salvador. 

Anda president Rubén Alemán said the program will be financed with a US$100mn loan granted by the Inter-American Development Bank (IADB), which is responsible for the bidding processes related to the project. 

The initiative includes reinforcement and renewal of the northern system, including its central facility. The first stage will include cleaning and improving 19 existing wells. During a second stage, ANDA expects to drill seven more. 

According to IDB documents cited by daily La Prensa Gráfica, the bank has divided the project into three components: improvement of energy efficiency, reduction of non-revenue water levels, including the renovation of pipelines, and management improvements.

The works will begin in San Juan de Opico municipality on Friday. 

The poor state of the water and sewerage system reportedly contributes to Anda losing 60% of its annual water production. According to Anda data quoted by la Prensa Gráfica, 80% of the northern zone water and sewage system is damaged.