Water. Desalination + reuse
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The new president of ALADYR, the Latin America desalination and water reuse association, sees his organisation as a window onto the region for international companies. His big aim is to step up events during 2018, taking knowledge of desalination and reuse out to the market. J uan Miguel Pinto is brimming with energy when we meet at IDA World Congress 2018 in São Paulo, Brazil. The new president of Asociación Latinoamericana de Desalación y Reúso de Agua — or ALADYR, the Latin American desal and reuse body — is going to need that drive if he wants to meet the tough targets he has set for the organisation and for himself as leader. But then Pinto comes across as a man who welcomes a challenge. The 37-year-old engineer, appointed as president of Aladyr in 2107, serves on the board of directors of the International Desalination Association (IDA), is the current sales manager for the desalination segment across North and Latin America for energy efficiency specialists Energy Recovery, and is completing an Executive Masters in Busi - ness Administration (EMBA) at University of Florida's UF Hough Business School in 2018. On top of this, he has vowed to increase membership of Aladyr by 100 per cent, up from 300 members today to 600 by the end of next year. It's a big leap, but one that Pinto believes is essential to support growth and development in Latin America's desalination and water reuse markets, as well as boosting economic growth in the region more gener - ally. The industry organisation, founded in 2010, hovered at around 100 to 150 members during its first few years. Taking the lead "We want to be the leading organisation in water reuse and desalination," says Pinto, with typical ambition. "By sharing knowledge, we are helping to develop lead- ing technologies, and supporting the environment with solutions that can help to save water and be efficient. We want to support our members and add value, and to be a reference point for municipal players and govern - ment entities, helping to grow investment, and the market." The latter point is particularly important for desalination and water reuse projects, where client enti- ties such as local water utilities can lack the specialist knowledge and therefore the confidence that they need to bring forward new developments. Pinto estimates that seawater desalination currently represents 5 to 10 per cent of the Latin America water market. The largest slice of investment goes to wastewater treatment, and water reuse, brackish water reverse osmo - sis (RO), and industrial applications get a varying share depending on the local conditions. The market in each country has its own unique characteristics: Argentina has an ambition to complete 38 municipal water projects nationally (see overleaf); while in Chile, water utilities are mostly privately owned, with a large chunk of investment driven by the big mining interests. Mega trends Across LatAm, however, the two mega trends influencing water projects are commodities pricing, and regulation. "Part of the Latin America market is driven by commodi- ties, and we are expecting it to grow as the prices of copper and iron ore increase. It's an example of why the market can grow," says Pinto. (The price of high grade copper is up by 22.32 per cent a year, as of mid-November, to $3.07 a pound, while the price of iron ore fell by 16.07 per cent to $61.79 per metric tonne over the same period. Analysts sug- gest that any sustained rise in prices over the coming years is likely to be gradual rather than dramatic.) The other reason for optimism is the wide-ranging over- haul of regulation across the region, which is creating the legal frameworks that are expected to smooth the path for utilities and developers to create public-private partnership (PPP) projects. Water. desalination + reuse December 2017 Interview 9 Juan Miguel Pinto is confident that Latin America's market for desalination and reuse projects is poised for growth. The question is not if, but when?