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Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Today's News Headlines
* Ensenada studies waste-to-energy project - Mexico
* World Bank report analyzes impact of irrigation projects - Peru
* University of São Paulo opens e-waste facility - Brazil
* SACM to spend US$120mn to improve potable water services - Mexico
* Tamaulipas opens new potable water plant - Mexico
* IDB-backed water resource center to open in Liberia - Regional
* Reconstruction to cost US$10bn - Haiti
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* Ensenada studies waste-to-energy project - Mexico
Researchers at Mexico's Baja California autonomous university (UABC) are carrying out studies to evaluate the potential of building a waste-to-energy plant at the Ensenada city landfill, Dr Carolina Armijo de Vega told BNamericas.
The studies are currently in their first phase, which involves establishing how much methane gas is generated at the site. Preliminary results show the landfill has the potential for a small waste-to-energy project, according to Armijo.
"It will definitely have potential, but this will be limited because Ensenada is not a large city and it doesn't generate a lot of waste," Armijo said.
Baja California's Mediterranean climate also limits the scope of the project, as a hot, humid climate is the most favorable for methane generation, according to Armijo.
The Ensenada landfill receives some 475t/d of waste and is currently concessioned to a private operator.
The concession contract will last another 14 years, after which the landfill will be returned to the municipal government of Ensenada.
"At the end of the day, the municipality will be responsible for the CO2 and methane emissions produced, which is why we're exploring the possibility of getting rid of those emissions," Armijo said.
The study is being funded by Mexico's national science and technology council (Conacyt), as well as the Baja California state government.
By Catherine Setterfield
Business News Americas
* World Bank report analyzes impact of irrigation projects - Peru
The World Bank's corporate, global and methods division has published an impact evaluation report studying the effects of irrigation projects on farmers in rural Peru.
The report analyzes changes in the agricultural production and economic welfare of farmers following the implementation of a large irrigation project.
This kind of project is of particular benefit to poor farmers who increase their income by over US$220/y compared with control groups. Rich farmers do not experience the same benefits, according to the report.
The evaluation will have important implications for policy design in the agriculture sector, according to the World Bank.
To download a copy of the full report, go to this link (http://www.bnamericas.com/research_detalle.jsp?idioma=I&documento=1012738&id_sector=0)
By Business News Americas staff reporters
* University of São Paulo opens e-waste facility - Brazil
Brazil's University of São Paulo (USP) has begun operating its computer waste disposal and reuse center, government news service Agência Brasil reported.
The facility, run by the center for disposal and reuse of e-waste (Cedir), will properly dispose or recycle e-waste and obsolete equipment such as computers and telecommunications devices.
The recycled equipment will be lent to institutions to be used for an estimated two years. Thereafter, equipment will be returned to the center for appropriate final disposal.
The project is being developed in partnership with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in the US, according to a USP release.
By Business News Americas staff reporters
* SACM to spend US$120mn to improve potable water services - Mexico
Mexico's federal district (DF) water utility SACM will spend 1.36bn pesos (US$121mn) to improve potable water services in the capital during 2010, according to city mayor Marcelo Ebrard.
The money will be spent on long and short-term measures to guarantee water supply in the face of the severe water shortage affecting the city, Ebrard was quoted as saying in a DF government press release.
Measures include rehabilitating deep wells and potable water plants, replacing domestic water connections, and increasing rainwater collection and treatment.
The utility will also replace potable water pipelines in the city. It is estimated that 82% of the city's 12,000km network is old and in need of maintenance or renewal.
In 2009, SACM spent 257mn pesos to replace secondary potable water networks. In 2010, it plans to spend 280mn pesos to repair and improve a further 419km, the release said.
Ebrard reiterated calls for citizens to reduce their water consumption, particularly in the Coyoacán, Azcapotzalco and Cuauhtémoc districts, which are the worst affected by the drought.
Water levels in the Cutzamala system, which provides more than 20% of the water consumed daily in the Mexico valley metropolitan area, were at 462Mm3 as of January 15. The system requires water levels of 491Mm3 to guarantee the city's water supply, Ebrard said.
By Business News Americas staff reporters
* Tamaulipas opens new potable water plant - Mexico
Mexico's Tamaulipas state governor, Eugenio Hernández Flores, has inaugurated the new Rancho Grande potable water plant in Reynosa city, the state government reported in a release.
The plant was built jointly by the state and municipal governments at a cost of 40mn pesos (US$3.15mn), and will benefit some 100,000 inhabitants.
The facility has the capacity to treat 250l/s, and water is supplied by the nearby Bravo river, the release said.
In addition to the plant, local water utility Comapa is planning to drill two deep wells in the area and build two elevated storage tanks with a 4Ml capacity, according to Comapa head Esiquio Resendez Cantú.
Works are part of Tamaulipas' 48bn-peso state infrastructure plan for 2008-10.
By Business News Americas staff reporters
* IDB-backed water resource center to open in Liberia - Regional
The new Central American and Caribbean water resource center Hidrocec will open in Costa Rica in March, local paper La Nación reported.
The entity will provide technical assistance to help countries in the region preserve their water resources.
Located in Guanacaste province's Liberia city, Hidrocec will operate under the state-owned college Universidad Nacional (UNA).
IDB provided US$500,000 to build the center, the report said.
The entity will oversee the protection and management of surface and underground water; the use and recuperation of basins; the development of technology to treat domestic, industrial and agro-industrial wastewater; and review legislation and the management of water resources.
The center will also offer undergraduate and master's programs in water resource management.
By Business News Americas staff reporters
* Reconstruction to cost US$10bn - Haiti
Some US$10bn will be needed over the next five years to reconstruct Haiti in the wake of the earthquake that devastated capital Port-au-Prince last week, according to the Dominican Republic's President Leonel Fernández, local paper Hoy reported.
The figure was reached at a conference held in Dominican Republic capital Santo Domingo with the participation of 76 representatives from different countries and international aid organizations.
During the conference a committee was created to develop a strategic plan for Haiti's reconstruction. The participants also agreed to request a waiver for Haiti's international debt and to create a special development fund for the country with the capital and interest payments made by Latin American and Caribbean countries to the Paris Club.
The committee will meet again in Montreal, Canada on January 25. In April, a follow-up meeting will be held in the Dominican Republic.
Meanwhile, European and Latin American authorities are organizing a meeting to be held in Spanish capital Madrid from May 16- 18 to discuss a strategic action plan for Haiti's reconstruction.
The conference in Santo Domingo counted on the presence of the prime ministers of the Bahamas, Barbados, Canada, Dominica and Trinidad & Tobago. The president of IDB, a World Bank representative and the UN secretary general Ban Ki-moon also participated. The governments of the Dominican Republic, Brazil, Mexico, Chile, the US, Jamaica and the European Union, among others, were also present.
By Business News Americas staff reporters
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In-deph interview
* "The government has decided to implement emergency measures to guarantee water supply"
Jack Arévalo
Manager
SANAA
Honduras
http://www.bnamericas.com/interviews/waterandwaste/Jack_Arevalo_,SANAA,/170693530
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Main companies covered in today's news
* Secretaría del Ambiente
http://www.bnamericas.com/company-profile/en/Secretaria_del_Ambiente-SEAM/170693530
* Banco Nacional de Obras y Servicios Públicos S.N.C.
http://www.bnamericas.com/company-profile/en/Banco_Nacional_de_Obras_y_Servicios_Publicos_S,N,C,-BANOBRAS/170693530
* Empresa de Saneamento de Mato Grosso do Sul S.A.
http://www.bnamericas.com/company-profile/en/Empresa_de_Saneamento_de_Mato_Grosso_do_Sul_S,A,-SANESUL/170693530
* Servicios de Agua y Drenaje de Monterrey, I.P.D.
http://www.bnamericas.com/company-profile/en/Servicios_de_Agua_y_Drenaje_de_Monterrey,_I,P,D,-SADM/170693530
* The World Bank Group
http://www.bnamericas.com/company-profile/en/The_World_Bank_Group-World_Bank/170693530
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