3 July 2012: The Latin American Development Bank (CAF) approved loans for Uruguay’s Improvement and Rehabilitation Program for Drinking Water and Sanitation Systems, and for the expansion project of the effluent treatment and disposal system serving Uruguay’s principal tourist pole, Punta del Este.

The loans were signed in Montevideo, Uruguay, by CAF Executive President Enrique Garcia and officials of Uruguay’s State Sanitary Works (OSE), the state corporation in charge of water and sanitation, with Economy and Finance Minister Fernando Lorenzo signing on behalf of the government as guarantor.

The US$100.2 million loan to OSE will fund 70% of a US$143.2 million investment in implementing the OSE 2012-2016 Investment Plan to: rehabilitate and expand potable water systems in the national capital, Montevideo, as well as in the interior of the country; support OSE’s Settlement Regularization Plan to “regularize” unauthorized connections to public water and sewage systems; the construction of sewage treatment plants in Salto, Fray Bentos, Mercedes, Colonia, Paysandú and San Gregorio de Polanco; support to the National Connection Plan to increase access to services; and the construction of regional environmental testing laboratories. The loan also will help build a modern data processing center for OSE.

The separate US$5 million loan to OSE will be used to expand the latter’s project for the effluent treatment and disposal of Maldonado Department that serves Punta del Este, adding to the US$40 million CAF has already provided to the same project. OSE hopes that the expansion will increase coverage of sewage services in the Department from the current 53% to 95%. [CAF Press Release (in Spanish)]