Water. Desalination + reuse
Issue link: https://fhpublishing.uberflip.com/i/749211
32 In Site December 2016 Water. desalination + reuse M e x i c o M A R K e T o P P o R T U N i T i e S Legal framework Asociaciones Publico-Privadas In 2012, Mexico issued the Asociaciones Publico-Privadas, a new law governing public-private partnerships (PPPs) in the country. It provides a broad, enabling framework for PPPs at federal and state levels of government, paving the way for new PPPs. The law also permits the private sector to propose new projects to relevant government agencies where opportunities have been identified by the private sector. A proposed project may not be awarded directly, but must go through a competitive tender process. The new legislation strengthens the PPP selection and decision- making process, establishes equal rights for local or foreign firms, and sets out the bidding process including public notifications. It regulates projects undertaken at a federal level, and is mandatory at state level if federal government finances more than half the cost of the project. National view Climate, energy, water, finance As Water. desalination + reuse went to press, reports were emerging that the Mexican finance minister Jose Antonio Meade and Mexico Central Bank governor Agustin Carsens were working on a contingency plan to support the peso in the event that the US election would be won by Donald Trump. In the past few years, Mexico has embraced desalination, with local news outlets reporting that it aims to invest in a string of new plants along its coastline. A lower valued currency could potentially put off companies who may aim to generate revenues in pesos, although cross-border water exports would be more lucrative. Water is especially scarce in the north and centre of the country, where average rainfall can be low, and aquifers are overdeveloped. In the past 20 or so years, access to piped water in urban areas improved from 88 per cent to 93 per cent, and in rural areas from 50 per cent to 74 per cent, although the level of wastewater treatment remains lower. Players Who's who in Mexico Roberto Ramirez Roberto Ramirez de la Parra, director general of the Comisión Nacional del Agua (Conagua), Mexico's national water authority. In October 2016, de la Parra announced six PPP tenders for MXN 10 billion ($550 million) of water infrastructure projects, including a desalination plant in Ensenada, Baja California. Ensenada SWRO plant was commissioned in 2014. Kiko Vega Francisco Vega de Lamadrid (also known as Kiko Vega). Governor of Baja California state until 2019, Vega and his staff have supported the Rosarito project. It's a 21,600 m3/d project by Spain's Inima, on a 20-year concession. Frederick McTaggart Frederick McTaggart. President and chief executive of Consolidated Water, McTaggart is leading the Playas de Rosarito mega project. He was previously managing director of Water Authority-Cayman, the government-owned water utility serving certain areas of the Cayman Islands.