In Costa Rica the paperwork needed for an industrial company to be able to use its own water well requires activities to be undertaken in three institutions and which take over a year.
The article in Elfinancierocr.com reviews the different steps in the process which involves repeat submissions to the Acueductos y Alcantarillados department (AyA), the Dirección de Aguas del Ministerio de Ambiente (Minae), and the Servicio Nacional de Aguas Subterráneas, Riego y Avenamiento (Senara).
The Costa Rican Institute of Aqueducts and Sewers (AyA) is planning a borrowing program of $838 lasting until 2019 to fund its own projects.
Yesenia Calderon, chief executive of the institution, reported that included in the list of projects is $662 million worth of projects which have already been authorized or are underway, including the "Program for Improvement of the Environmental Metropolitan Area, the Water Supply Program for the Metropolitan Area, the Urban Aqueduct, the Sanitary Sewer at Puerto Viejo de Limon, the Rural Water and Rural Sanitation II Programs, the Project for Drinking Water and Sanitation in peri-urban Areas of the Metropolitan Area and Rural Priority Areas, the Supply program for the Metropolitan Area and Urban Water Supply, and the Program for the Reduction of Unaccounted Water".
The project already has a feasibility study, plans, preliminary design and studies of land tenure for the provision of drinking water to several counties in Guanacaste, Costa Rica.
The plan by the National Groundwater, Irrigation and Drainage Services (Senara) would use 800,000 cubic meters of water which are currently being wasted. A reservoir of 800 acres would be filled with excess water, which would be used to generate 10 megawatts of electricity, then it would be turned into drinkable water and supplied to various communities.
The Constitutional Chamber of Costa Rica accepted an appeal, effectively suspending the construction of the project by Las Catalinas Properties Holding Ltd.
The suit, lodged by Mr. Luis Carlos Sanchez and Robert Faris, denounced the use of well water without an authorized concession and tree felling of high value timber.
"The project is located in an area where there currently is not any legal operator established for the providing drinking water through an aqueduct, which means that a letter of availability can not be issued" says a letter given in evidence and signed on May 12 last by Guillermo Arce, of the Water and Sewerage company", reported Nacion.com
The AyA has projects for which it is looking for funds, and is considering various forms of investment types, including concessions for public works, public - private partnerships, leasing and securitizations.
Costa Rica’s investment needs for water supply and sewerage systems amount to $1820 million, of which $599 million is for projects to be developed immediately, $371 for short-term projects, and $850 million for medium-and long-term ones .
The Costa Rican Institute of Aqueducts and Sewers needs resources of $598 million immediately and $371 million in the short term.
The funds are for projects that were put to the bottom of the list and have now become a priority for the institution.
Eduardo Lezama, assistant manager of the institution, referred to the projects that need to be done urgently, "We need improvements in collection, in the distribution network sectors, in storage tanks or increased storage."
In Costa Rica, any work materials purchased by operators of rural aqueducts are now free from taxes.
The new law "Removal of Taxes for Asadas" (Association Administering a Rural Aqueduct), was signed yesterday by President Oscar Arias.
Elfinancierocr.com published comments by Ricardo Sancho, executive from AyA, the state owned operator of aqueducts and sewers: "We have been working on this since May, and we have finally achieved our objective of exonerating Asadas from paying taxes for their working materials".
In September, the three pre-qualified companies will present their design and construction bids.
Francisco Brenes, project chief, reported that the participating companies are "Degremont", "Acciona Agua" and "FCC Construción".
"The winning company will be in charge of... the first stage of the plant, which will treat sewage waters for one million inhabitants", reported website Nacion.com.
Costa Rica is negotiating a $50 million loan with the IDB for the construction of a sewage treatment plant.
Ricardo Sancho, president of the Institute of Aqueducts and Sewers (AyA) of Costa Rica reported that the institute is holding discussions with the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), seeking to ensure funding for the plant which will serve 1.6 million customers.
Water and Sewage Authorities are seeking approval from the Government to finance the metropolitan sewer system with a loan from a Japanese bank, increasing the rates and state funding for up to a fourth of the project.
The initiative, which is estimated at $200 million and which was initially planned for concession to a private firm, is now being presented as a public investment project, with the design and construction put to international tender.