Argentina to invest US$44bn in 15-year national water plan

Argentina's national water plan, based on the UN's 2030 Sustainable Development Goals for water use and combating poverty, will require total investments of US$44bn over a period of 15 years.

Water resources undersecretary Pablo Bereciartúa said that the national water is already in motion "and the investment will depend on the financing possibilities," according to state news agency Télam.

"So far we have tendered works worth 37bn pesos [US$2.4bn]," the official said, and said that works have already started on some of the projects.

He also underlined in a presentation on the plan that infrastructure spending on the country is equivalent to only 2% of national GDP when it should be at 6%.

Funding for these works comes from the national treasury and multinational organizations, he added, pointing out that an innovative "guarantee fund for infrastructure works" could be used to develop water projects in the country.

Talking about water and sanitation projects that have are already underway, he highlighted the Córdoba sewerage system, costing some 3.2bn pesos; the Río Cuarto treatment plant (400mn pesos); and a series of other works in 10 northern provinces involving total investments of 7.7bn pesos.

He also pointed to the flagship project to clean up the Matanza-Riachuelo river basin in Buenos Aires, as it involves US$1.2bn in financing from the World Bank and which will allow more people in the city to be connected to the drainage network.