He Arazatí Project will begin during the first quarter of next year, after having been approved by the Court of Accounts, a key work to face the possibility of a repetition of a water crisis like the one that affected this year Montevideo and the metropolitan area of Uruguay.
After meeting, the court decided not to make observations on the work, awarded in August to the Aguas de Montevideo Consortium, so the contract will be signed in the next 40 days and the tasks for the water treatment plant would begin between the end of February and the beginning of March 2024.
The project foresees an expenditure of 800 million dollars, of which 250 million will be financed by the winning company. Besides, SBI will have to pay a fee of more than 45 million dollars annually for 17 years and 6 months.
The work includes the construction of a water treatment plant, but also involves an 80-kilometer adduction pipeline and an emergency reserve to supply fresh water in situations such as drought this year, which raised the salinity of the water.
Opinion divided between the ruling party and the opposition
In it Court of Accounts, he Arazatí Project was validated by 4 votes out of 7. The fact is that Wide Front ratified the opposition’s criticism of the initiative and its three members, Miguel Aumento, Enrique Cabrera and Flora de Santis, They expressed themselves against it.
Meanwhile, the president of the TC, Susana Diaz, next to Francisco Gallinal (National Party), Alvaro Ezcurra (Colorado Party) and Darwin Machado (National Party) did not make observations and it was established that the project complied with the contracting principles.
In fact, months ago, the director of OSE for the FA, Edgardo Ortuño, He maintained that the initiative represents “an extra cost” of nearly 300 million dollars “for not taking over the public management of OSE, but with financing, operation of the water intake and maintenance, all outsourced.”
Ortuño He stated that the companies that participated in the tender “proposed five paths to implement this project, and the government chose the most expensive.”
Source: Ambito
