Pullaro highlighted that the Biprovincial Aqueduct “is a unique experience in the Argentine Republic”

Communiqué from the Government of the Province of Santa Fe

This is an automated translation of the press release issued in Spanish

The governors of Santa Fe , Maximiliano Pullaro, and of Córdoba , Martín Llaryora, and the Minister of Economy of the Nation, Luis Caputo, signed this Wednesday the counter-guarantee agreements, to advance the loan of 100 million dollars that the Saudi Fund will grant for the execution of blocks B and C of the Biprovincial Aqueduct , which will supply drinking water to 400 thousand inhabitants of both provinces.

Previously, Caputo signed the loan guarantee contract with representatives of the Saudi Fund, since the National State, being sovereign, acts as guarantor before the Fund. For this reason, the governors of Santa Fe and Córdoba signed a second contract with the Nation, since if the central Government were to face the debt, it would be retained from the co-participation.

After the event, which took place in Buenos Aires, Pullaro stressed that “this project really transcends governments”; and recalled that “it began during the administration of Governors Schiaretti and Perotti” -who attended the signing ceremony today-, “and today we can continue it together with Governor Llaryora and our work team.”

“It is a project that will benefit many towns in the provinces of Santa Fe and Córdoba,” said the governor of Santa Fe; and he stressed that “it is a unique experience in the Argentine Republic, which has to do with coordination, the work of the different technical teams, but fundamentally with the articulation with international organizations and with the backing of the Nation's guarantee. So we are very pleased that this project can be completed and perhaps have many more projects with these characteristics.”

In this regard, he indicated that "there are many people from Santa Fe and also from Córdoba who are participating in the construction of this aqueduct; and being able to continue forward also has to do with the continuity of the work, at a time when public works in Argentina have suffered greatly."

Santa Fe, the least indebted
Pullaro then highlighted that Santa Fe “is the province with the least debt in Argentina: at the end of the month, we have what we owe in our coffers, what we owe for 30 years; and for this reason we could have many credits to think about infrastructure works, which bet on productive, energy and road development, on connectivity, to generate work and economic growth.”

Present at the event were the ambassador of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in Argentina, Hussein Alassiri; the CEO and the head of Protocol of the Saudi Fund, Sultan Abdulrahman Almarshad, and Faisal Alkhushaiban, respectively; the Minister of Economy, Pablo Olivares; the executive director of the Agency for Economic Cooperation and External Financing, Gonzalo Saglione; and the deputy and former governor Omar Perotti, who signed the loan during his administration.

The loan
In this regard, Olivares stated that the “project means the development of a bi-provincial aqueduct, the first of its kind in Argentina, which takes water from the Coronda River. This is the second loan for this project, and since they are with bilateral organizations, in this case the Saudi Fund, they require a sovereign guarantee, and the national government has made the gesture of giving the endorsement and acting as a common guarantor for both provinces. This understanding allows us to join forces to provide services to the people.”

The work
The first stage of the works, which is divided into blocks, includes the construction of an aqueduct to supply drinking water to 32 towns in the centre of Santa Fe and 21 in the north-east of Córdoba.

Block A, which is currently under construction, includes the intake works, the raw water aqueduct, the water treatment plant, 4,740 meters of main aqueduct to cross the AP01 and R1.2 highways to enter the city of Coronda and its distribution center. This work has been financed by the Kuwait Fund, with a total of 50 million dollars for both provinces.

Block B includes the execution of 20.40 km of the main line of the main aqueduct, up to Pumping Station No. 2 and more than 44 km of branches, including the towns of Barrancas and Gessler. Finally, the distribution centers of Arocena, Gessler, Larrechea, San Fabián and Barrancas are being executed, providing them with water ready for consumption.

Finally, Block C includes the construction of Pumping Station No. 2 and the execution of branches, which comprise more than 39 km of aqueduct, supplying drinking water to the towns of Loma Alta, Gálvez, San Eugenio, Campo Piaggio and López.