Municipal Environmental Protection Program

active

The FC project is part of the Colombian wastewater program Saneamiento de Vertimientos (SAVER), initiated in 2006 under the direction of the Ministry of Housing, Cities and Territories (MVCT), and is intended to contribute to the protection of surface waters (part of Colombia's NDC 2020). Most surface waters serve as a source for drinking water treatment. They are still heavily polluted by untreated wastewater. According to national plans, around 68% of municipal wastewater is to be treated in an environmentally friendly manner by 2030. SAVER concentrates measures on strategic water catchment areas. Two of these are the locations financed by the FC project: Pereira / Dosquebradas, approx. 700,000 inhabitants (Otún-Consonta rivers), and Manizales / Villamaria, approx. 500,000 inhabitants (Chinchiná river). New sewage treatment plants are intended to increase the current level of wastewater treatment from 0% to around 50%. The FC project aims at hygienically and ecologically appropriate wastewater treatment at selected locations. Reduced substance inputs into surface waters are intended to ensure more resilient drinking water production. The target groups are residents of the above-mentioned cities and people in downstream areas. FC financing objects are sewage treatment plants and construction monitoring services (Pereira). Own contributions finance parts of the sewage treatment plant construction, sewer network expansion, connections and construction monitoring services (Manizales). The water companies in Manizales and Pereira have no experience in sewage treatment plant operation to date. An accompanying measure serves in particular to build up operational know-how. The FC funds will be provided as a loan of up to around EUR 43 million within the framework of IKLU. The sewage treatment plant costs are estimated at around EUR 92 million (2023 120 million) (own contribution around EUR 50 million - 2023 77 million). A further estimated EUR 70 million in own contributions will finance the expansion of the sewer network and connections. The FC contribution refinances the central government's 40% contribution to the program.