US$500mn Chile desal plant gaining traction

A project to install a US$500mn desalination plant in Chile's northern Atacama region is gaining traction and construction could begin in the first quarter of next year, with operations starting up in 2021.

The CEO of the consortium in charge of the project (Enapac), Rodrigo Silva, said that the firm is holding advanced talks with mining companies in the region that could benefit from the plant "and we're close to signing some long-term contracts," reported daily El Mercurio.

According to Chile's environmental regulator SEA, the project, dubbed Aguas del Pacífico, is currently under evaluation, while a spokesperson from Enapac told BNamericas that the process is in the final preparatory.

Representatives of the consortium will meet economy minister José Ramón Valente, while the Enapac spokesperson added that "this is part of an intense agenda of meetings " to inform authorities of the state of the project, given the recent change of government, and that more meetings will take place.

The plant is one of the projects listed by the government's recently launched GPS office, which is aimed at speeding up bureaucratic procedures to boost large investment projects.

If built, the plant would have capacity to produce an average of 1,000l/s of water and 2,600l/s at maximum capacity, making it the largest such facility in Latin America. The water would then be transported to a reservoir with capacity to hold 600,000m3.

The plant would be powered by a 100MW photovoltaic plant.

Some 80% of the project's financing would come from bank loans and the remaining 20% from Enacap, which is formed by Chilean engineering and technology firm Trends and Almar Water Solutions, a Spain-based water infrastructure firm backed by Saudi Arabia's Abdul Latif Jameel Energy & Environmental Services.