Maua Sewerage System

cancelled

In September 2002, the municipal government of Maua awarded a 30 year contract to rehabilitate, operate and transfer the sewarage system of the city of Maua to Empresa Concessionaria de Saneamento de Maua S.A. (ECOSAMA). The project was to serve 385,000 residents in the municipality of Maua (state of Sao Paulo). It involved complying with a detailed plan (Projeto Sanear) developed by Saneamento Basico do Municipio de Maua (SAMA –the local government water utility). ECOSAMA was the project company created by Construtora Gautama, who submitted the lowest offer for the sewerage system concession (the offers were not disclosed). In March 2003, Ecosama started operations. The Projeto Sanear plan was expected to require a US$44.5 million (150 million reals) investment. In December 2004 ECOSAMA obtained US$15.8 million (43 million reals) from Caixa Economica Federal. The plan included a collection network and a treatment plant, as well as increasing the percentage of collection and treatment of wastewater from 72% to 100% in the first seven years. Treated wastewater was expected to be made available for industrial uses. Ecosama was to continue to operate the potable water treatment and distribution system. In December 2007, Brazilian engineering group Odebrecht, though its subsidiary Foz do Brasil, bought Ecosama, the water utility serving Sao Paulo state city Maua, for 20mn reais (US$11.2m). At the time, Ecosama was blamed for not complying with its contractual commitments. In September 2009, the sponsor began negotiating with the municipality a new investment plan, because the possibility of supplying treater wastewater to the petrochemical industrial complex was rulled not financially viable. In September 2009, Foz do Brasil announced its intention to invest US$60m (BRL 120m) in the construction of a new wastewater facility in the first quarter of 2010. In 2016, the contract was cancelled, because a new tendering process took place advised by Odebrecht. The new concession contract was signed in March 2016 (ID# ).