Announcement of Water Systems in Argentina's Three Largest Cities to be Improved on December 12, 1985

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE World Bank MQ''~TARY FUND JNTERNATIO:;AL '" "c~ JOiiH L!BRAnY 1818HStreet,N.W.,Washington,D.C.20433,U.S.A.•Telephone: (202)477-1234Dc~: 1 ~; i98S BANK NEWS RELEASE NO. 86 / 40 December 12, 1985 WATER SYSTEMS IN ARGENTINA'S THREE LARGEST CITIES TO BE IMPROVED The water systems of Argentina's three most important cities -- Buenos Aires, Cordoba and Rosario -- will be improved with the assistance of a World Bank loan of $60 million. This is the first Bank-financed project in the water supply sector in Argentina. The project will assist the government to rehabilitate old water and sewerage installations, extend water services to new urban areas, and strengthen sector planning, management and finances. It will also include a national water and sanitation plan to permit the newly decentralized system to function efficiently. A national program to promote water conservation through the physical rehabilitation of water systems, the metering of production and consumption, and institutional strengthening of the water utilities will be initiated under the project. In this first s~age, the program will cover the Buenos Aires Metropolitan area and the cities of Cordoba and Rosario de Santa Fe, which together represent 60 percent of the urban population of the country. The project also includes the rehabilitation and extension of Cordoba's water system. A water treatment plant will be built at Los Molinos and the Suquia water treatment plant will be upgraded. The loan will help finance the completion of a raw water channel, installation of four booster pumping stations, and construction of water mains and secondary pipes. The operational improvements will benefit 1.4 million people in the three cities by the end of 1990. In addition, another 400,000 people will benefit from the construction and expansion works in Cordoba by the end of 1993. Water supply and sewerage service in Argentina is lower than the average for other countries in Latin America with a similar per capita income. In Metropolitan Buenos Aires, with a population of 10 million, water and sewerage service is available to 64 percent and 40 percent respectively. In Cordoba (1 million inhabitants) service covers 78 percent and 25 percent of the population, while in Rosario, which also has a population of 1 million, service is available to 89 percent and 45 percent. NOTE: Money figures are expressed in U.S. dollar equivalents.  t' - 2 - The total project coat i1 eatimated at $120.4 million. The procHdl of the World Bank loan will be made available to Obra1 Sanitariaa de la Nacion ($16 million) and Empre1a Provincial de Obraa Sanitaria1 de Cordoba ($29 million) and Direccion Provincial de Obras Sanitaries de Santa Fe ($6 million). The loan also includes $8 million to finance interest during the grace period to help reduce the financial pressures on the government and on the executing agencies. The balance will be provided by the government and the three agencies. The World Bank loan was made to the Argentine Republic for a term of 15 years, including three years of grace, with a variable interest rate, currently at 8.82 percent, linked to the cost of the Bank's borrowings. It also carries an annual commitment charge of 0.75 percent on undisbursed balances. - 0 -