Argentina to Expand Water and Sanitation in Greater Buenos Aires, with IDB Support

The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) approved a lending operation of up to $150 million to help improve the quality of life of people in the Buenos Aires Metropolitan Area. The operation will prioritize the districts of the first, second, and third ring of the Buenos Aires conurbation where Agua y Saneamientos Argentinos S.A. (AySA) provides drinking water and sewerage services.

This is the second operation of the conditional line of credit for investment projects—approved by the IDB on August 29, 2017—to help expand the coverage of drinking water and sanitation services in AySA’s concession area. An estimated 1.5 million people in this area have no access to piped drinking water, and 3.7 million people have no connection to the sanitary sewer system.

The resources from this operation will be used to expand the sanitary sewer system in the municipality of Matanza by installing mains and networks to drain sewage. The operation will also increase capacity to properly treat and dispose of wastewater by building a pumping station and the subfluvial outfall works of Berazategui’s final disposal system.

The program will also support steps to reduce physical water losses by sectorizing, rehabilitating, and renovating drinking water systems and installing bulk meters and micrometers, as well as other equipment to control flow and pressure. It will complement this work with innovation and digital transformation initiatives to enhance AySA’s management performance and operational efficiency, as well as activities to strengthen its governance and financing frameworks to ensure its services are sustainable.

As part of this operation, the IDB has also approved the use of AySA’s procurement system, once the agency finished modernizing it, so AySA can use its own rules and regulations to arrange contracts for works, goods, and consulting services to be funded by this lending operation.

These interventions are expected to benefit approximately 6.2 million people in the Buenos Aires Metropolitan Area.

This second operation will be funded by up to $150 million in ordinary capital from the IDB and $37.6 million in local contributions. It will be dispersed over a five-year period.