Bolivia to build La Paz reservoir to ease drought
Bolivia's government will build a US$42mn reservoir outside capital La Paz as the country's worst drought in 30 years forces authorities to continue water rationing into a fourth month.
The Kaluyo reservoir aims to provide additional water supply to over a 100 neighborhoods in La Paz where state water utility Epsas has restricted services to 12 hours a day, President Evo Morales said after meeting with an emergency team of advisers.
Morales in November declared a national emergency and sacked his top water officials for failing to warn the government about the lack of water supply in La Paz, a highland city of 800,000 inhabitants.
In the meantime, the Bolivian and Venezuelan armed forces are distributing water from cistern trucks in the capital and seeding overhead clouds with silver iodide in a bid to force rainfall, Morales said in a broadcast press conference.
The program, dubbed lluvia soberana, or sovereign rain, achieved enough rainfall to partly refill the Inchaca, Hampaturi, Ajuancota and Milluni reservoirs, according to state news agency ABI. The left-wing governments of Bolivia and Venezuela have enjoyed close ties since Morales first took office in 2006.
The government previously issued a decree authorizing a US$70mn loan from Caracas-based Latin American development bank CAF for irrigation projects, said minister for the presidency René Martínez.
The Andean region is facing the effects of the La Niña phenomenon, where cooler ocean temperatures cause drought in the highlands, affecting crops and livestock. The El Niño phenomenon, which causes warmer sea temperatures, caused flooding in much of South America last year.
While Morales has pledged US$48.6bn in infrastructure and energy investments over the next five years, his government is struggling to line up financing as economic growth slows. Bolivia, which depends on natural gas for the bulk of its export revenue, saw exports drop 20% to US$6.652bn through November 2016.
PERU
Neighboring Peru, meanwhile, also imposed rationing in the capital Lima, but for a different motive: too much rain.
Lima's state water company Sedapal had to restrict water services in 26 districts in the city of 9mn people, after heavy rains unleashed flooding and mudslides, CEO Rudecindo Vega said at a press conference. Sedapal had to close its Atarjea treatment plant due to the amount of mud, rocks and tree trunks in the Rímac river, he said.
The government declared a state of emergency in the Lima, Ica, Arequipa and Huancavelica regions because of widespread flooding that was triggered by torrential rains, cabinet chief Fernando Zaval said. Emergency crews and heavy goods vehicles are working to clear riverbeds and drain flooded towns around the country, he said.
Subscribe to the leading business intelligence platform in Latin America with different tools for Providers, Contractors, Operators, Government, Legal, Financial and Insurance industries.
News in: Water & Waste (Peru)
Peru awards US$100mn flood control projects
The two contracts are part of a government-to-government agreement with the United Kingdom and will benefit 730,000 inhabitants of the La Libertad ...
Private sector initiatives take the spotlight in Peru’s PPP water agenda
The government plans to receive proposals for four projects involving investments of US$317mn, which include desalination and wastewater treatment ...
Subscribe to Latin America’s most trusted business intelligence platform.
Other projects in: Water & Waste (Peru)
Get critical information about thousands of Water & Waste projects in Latin America: what stages they're in, capex, related companies, contacts and more.
- Project: Riverside Defense Works in the Olmos and Zaña Rivers
- Current stage:
- Updated:
15 hours ago
- Project: Wastewater treatment plant in Trujillo (PTAR Trujillo)
- Current stage:
- Updated:
1 day ago
- Project: Sewerage system and water treatment of the city of Puerto Maldonado (Puerto Maldonado WWTP)
- Current stage:
- Updated:
2 days ago
- Project: San Gabán III hydro plant
- Current stage:
- Updated:
3 days ago
- Project: Pachapaqui expansion
- Current stage:
- Updated:
1 week ago
- Project: Fosfatos del Pacífico (Bayóvar N°9)
- Current stage:
- Updated:
1 week ago
- Project: Execution of the balance of work: improvement and expansion of the Tanayacu Tibilo irrigation system - Lagunas district - Alto Amazonas - Loreto.
- Current stage:
- Updated:
2 weeks ago
- Project: Improvement of the water conduction system for irrigation of the section isañani district of huanuara - province of candarave - department of tacna
- Current stage:
- Updated:
2 weeks ago
Other companies in: Water & Waste (Peru)
Get critical information about thousands of Water & Waste companies in Latin America: their projects, contacts, shareholders, related news and more.
- Company: Consorcio Sisa
- Company: Consorcio Serran
- Company: Consorcio F&G - FCHO
- Company: Consorcio Irrigación Piura
- Company: Resiter Perú S.A.C.  (Resiter Perú)
-
The description contained in this profile was taken directly from an official source and has not been edited or modified by BNamericas researchers, but may have been automatical...
- Company: Black & Veatch Peru
- Company: Golder Associates Perú S.A.  (Golder Associates Perú)
-
Golder Associates Peru, a subsidiary of Canadian Golder Associates, is dedicated to project management and providing solutions to the mining, manufacturing industry, oil and gas...
- Company: Rendel Perú
- Company: Altius Perú S.A.C  (Altius Perú)
-
Part of Grupo Davila founded in 1917, your trusted partner in your supply chain management. Spanish benchmark in the international transport sector, customs brokers and project ...