Chile’s primary water treatment company, Aguas Andinas, announced Monday it will invest US$940 million over the next seven years - primarily in infrastructure and environmental projects. Aguas Andinas is a subsidiary of Spain’s Aguas de Barcelona. Topping the company’s list of investment plans is the US$430 million Clean The Mapocho River Project, which calls for redirecting the city’s sewage through pipes to designated points rather than flushing sewage directly through the already contaminated Mopocho River.
Aguas Andinas also plans to open a new water treatment plant, its third. The company has yet to determine the new plant’s location and budget. Aguas Andinas also plans to spend US$170 million on water production technology upgrades in already existing plants.
Aguas Andinas Vice President Joaquin Villarino told La Tercera that the company is also considering plans for a desalination plant in either Region II or III, home to most of Chile’s water hungry copper mines.
SOURCE: LA TERCERA
By Julia Thompson <editor@santiagotimes.cl >