Asiser water utility

active

In December 2003 the municipalities of Baranoa and Polonuevo, located in Columbia’s Atlantico department, awarded a 20 year concession for their water and sewage infrastructure to private consortium Aguas del Norte S.A. The contract covered an area with a total population of 56,000 inhabitants. The concessionaire committed to a number of operational improvements, such as expanding network coverage, enhancing service by improving continuity, and increasing the efficiency of water and sewerage services. In the first year of operations the private operator was expected to add 10,000 connections. Financing for the total US$6.2 million (18 billion pesos) project was provided by the federal government (4.9 billion pesos - stemming from a World Bank loan), the municipal governments (9 billion pesos for capital investment and 3.6 billion pesos for subsidies) and the private concessionaire (US$240,000 or 0.5 billion pesos). In June 2005 Aguas del Norte S.A. ceded its concession contract to Baranquilla-based Empresa de Acqueducto y Alcantarillado de Barranquilla (AAA). The change came as Aguas del Norte S.A. had made little progress in expanding service and improving operations.