Panama moving forward on Gamboa potable water plant

Construction work on the José "Pepe" Fierro potable water treatment plant currently being built in the Gamboa sector of Panamá province is moving forward, Panamanian water utility Idaan said in a release.

The plant is currently 18% complete, with clearing works on the construction site already having advanced 90%.

The administrative building and the facilities that will host the plant's flocculation and filtering equipment are being built in the area that has already being cleared.

The entire project will cover 33ha and will also require building a raw water intake and a pumping station in addition to the treatment facility, as well as a line to draw water from the Chagres river and another pipeline to supply a neighboring existing hydraulic ring.

The plant requires US$239mn in investments, according to official information.

The works are the responsibility of consortium Agua para Gamboa, which is comprised of Construcciones Civiles Generales and Técnicas de Desalinización de Aguas (Tedagua).

The group has already disbursed US$381,000 in environmental compensation payments due to the logging of trees necessary to build the plant.

Once completed, the facility will produce 65mn gallons (246mn liters) of water per day, a figure that is eventually expected to increase to 85mn gallons.

Some 140,000 residents of Ancón, San Felipe, San Francisco, El Chorrillo, Santa Ana, Calidonia, Curundú, Betania and Bella Vista are expected to benefit.

The project will bolster two existing water supply systems serving the Panamanian capital (the Sur and Norte hydraulic rings), as well as the Occidente II pipeline, which will help increase potable water quality and coverage in the metropolitan area of the capital.

Following completion of the plan, the consortium will have a three-year term to operate it.

Pictured: A view of the plant's construction site. CREDIT: Idaan.