Camargo Corrêa wins contract to build, operate US$270mn treatment plant

Brazilian construction firm Camargo Corrêa won the contract to build and operate the second biggest water treatment plant in Peru, valued at US$270mn, Brazilian press reported.

The new plant will be built in Huachipa, in the metropolitan area of Lima.

To participate in the process, Camargo Corrêa formed a consortium with French OTV, in which the Brazilian firm has an 81% share. As part of the contract, Camargo will operate the plant for the first four years.

Currently, Camargo has a portfolio of projects worth about US$400mn in Peru but this is the first sanitation initiative. The firm plans to expand operations in sanitation by participating in a series of tenders for water and sewerage services that Peruvian President Alan García is planning to implement by 2011.

"This is one of our principle focus points here. There is a lot of room for growth in the sanitation sector in Peru," Marcos Wanderlei, Andean division director of Camargo Corrêa, was quoted as saying by Brazilian paper Valor Econômico.

He added that the company is planning to invest nearly US$600mn in new projects over the next two years.

The Huachipa treatment plant is one of the most important projects in García's sanitation program. The plant will supply potable water to 2.4mn people in five municipalities in the metropolitan region.

The winning consortium will also build a 27km distribution network, two 5km tunnels and five reservoirs. "This is a big project, one of the largest ever carried out in the Peruvian sanitation sector," Wanderlei said.

The US$270mn plant is part of a series of investments that the Peruvian government is making in sanitation. García aims to supply potable water and sewerage services to the entire greater Lima population by 2011, with investments of roughly US$2.7bn.

In the coming months, the government will call tenders for a water supply plant in the capital which requires a US$285mn investment and two sewage treatment plants costing over US$500mn.

Camargo Corrêa plans to participate in these bids, Wanderlei said.

Publication: Business News Americas - English News
Provider: Business News Americas
Date: August 25, 2008

Hidrosan to expand operations in LatAm

Chilean sanitation firm Hidrosan expects sales of US$100mn in the country during 2008, company president Guillermo Ruíz was quoted as saying in Peruvian paper Gestión.
Ruíz also referred to expansion plans in other countries. The company has already signed a number of contracts for the construction of potable and wastewater treatment plants in Panama, which will require investments of US$3mn, the report said.

Hidrosan plans on entering the Peruvian market this year and has already pre-qualified in tender processes in the country and also in Ecuador. These projects include finding a strategic partner for Ecuador's Quito water utility Emaap and a concession to provide water services in Peruvian city Tumbes.

Argentina is also in the company's expansion plans, the report said.

According to Ruiz, the company will invest around US$15mn in Chile this year, where it is seeking to strengthen local operations in areas such as industrial wastewater treatment services, using improved engineering and monitoring services, as well as the construction and operation of new plants.

The company is also involved in solid waste treatment, holding a 37% stake in the Santa Marta landfill, located in Chile's capital Santiago, which handles 40% of the city's waste.

Hidrosan also holds shares in Chilean water utilities Aguas Chañar and Aguas Patagonia de Aysén.

Publication: Business News Americas - English News
Provider: Business News Americas
Date: March 10, 2008