Saltillo treatment plant tenders delayed

Municipal officials from Mexico's Coahuila state capital Saltillo have not yet launched tenders as had been expected for a 20-year concession to build and operate a 1,300 l/s wastewater treatment plant, a city official told BNamericas. Administrative details have delayed bidding, originally expected to start in April. Though a new date has not been set, tenders could be launched in two or three months time, the official said. The city will notify potential bidders of the competition on its website - www.saltillo.gob.mx. The US$35mn, BOT contract would entail a construction phase of up to 1.5 years, which includes building the primary plant, drainage and transport networks plus small irrigation systems, city ecology director Hector Franco López previously told BNamericas. Public works bank Banobras would finance 40% of the project, while private capital, supported by municipal guarantees, would foot the remaining bill. Planners expect the plant to serve all of Saltillo's residents, who total more than 500,000, replacing the current practice of dumping untreated wastewater in streams.