Aguas Pacífico SpA, a company belonging to the Brazilian Patria Investments, the largest private investment fund in Latin America, with assets under management for more than US $ 12,000 million, is developing the construction project for the Aconcagua Desalination Plant in the Region of Valparaiso, Chile.
The project represents an investment of US $ 162 million and, among its characteristics, has a production capacity of 1,000 liters per second. The initiative, which will be installed in the so-called “Fundo El Carrizo” of the commune of Puchuncaví, seeks to reduce the water resource deficit that affects the Aconcagua river basin, both due to the lower flow of the river and the sustained low rainfall in recent years, phenomena that could increase due to climate change.
Although the water will be collected on the coast of Puchuncaví, it will not be used in that area, but will be stored in an accumulation pond that will be located in Quillota. The water, which will be transferred through a pipe, will have an industrial but equally potable purpose.
This desalination plant will be the first in the Valparaíso Region and also a national pioneer in its multi-demand condition, such as human consumption, agricultural irrigation and industrial purposes. Construction work is expected to begin in the first quarter of 2019 and its operation will begin in 2021.
ECOAGUA has been present in the project accompanying Aguas Pacífico since the beginning, performing the review of the basic engineering of the plant in order to obtain the Environmental Qualification Resolution, which was achieved in the summer of 2018.
Next ECOAGUA has carried out the preparation of the bidding documents, including Technical and Administrative Bases, Instructions to bidders, Bid evaluation methodology, leading the clarification processes and request for missing information and conducting the evaluation of Bidders Technical Offer.
ECOAGUA is still very active in the Chilean desalination market.