The Government of Uruguay signed the contract for the mega-project for drinking water, despite the objections of Yamandú Orsi. The president-elect sent a note to Luis Lacalle Pou expressing that he considered it inappropriate that an agreement had been reached with a private company just a few weeks before the change of administration. Infobae has the story:
In 2023, Uruguay ‘s drinking water supply was seriously compromised. The liquid began to come out of the taps salty and the Government began a countdown on the days left before the resource exceeded the chlorine levels suitable for human consumption. Preventive measures had to be rushed to find other reserves of fresh water. And, once the problem was solved, one question remained: what is the ultimate solution?
The answer to that question has a different answer depending on which side you listen to. In 2019, President Tabaré Vázquez had presented to his successor, Luis Lacalle Pou , the proposal to build a dam in the town of Casupá , on the Santa Lucía River. But the government of the current president preferred to go for a mega-project on the Río de la Plata.
This is the Neptuno Project, in Arazatí (San José), about 100 kilometers from Montevideo. The idea was presented by the Aguas de Montevideo consortium (made up of the companies Berkes, Saceem, Cimsa and Fast) , and proposes the installation of a water intake on the Río de la Plata, a water treatment plant, a pumping station and a pipeline.
The project was postponed during Lacalle Pou’s administration and was relegated to the end. This Thursday, the 23rd, the signature between the Executive Branch and the private group was finalized. It was a controversial move : in November, the Frente Amplio won the elections and on March 1st Yamandú Orsi will assume the Presidency. And the elected government has raised its objections to this project.
The Presidency announced this decision in the afternoon. “This marks the completion of a process that began in November 2022, when the government announced the construction and operation of a potable water supply and purification system, which will allow for an alternative source in the event of technical problems or adverse weather events,” the outgoing government justifies in the statement.
The process was full of twists and turns because, in addition to the criticism from the current opposition (which in March became the ruling party), there was also the rejection of social movements. In addition, there was a judicial decision – which was rejected by an Appeals Court – which temporarily halted the signing of the contract. The argument of the judicial appeals presented is that the Uruguayan Constitution establishes that the water supply must be carried out by the State.
But the government has indeed gone ahead with the project and has claimed to have completed all the required technical and environmental steps.
In the statement, the Executive Branch recalled the drought that almost left the Uruguayan capital without drinking water. “It is worth remembering the water crisis that affected the country in 2023 and its impact on water quality. The Arazatí project guarantees a basic right to the population residing in Montevideo and the metropolitan area ,” it argued.
The decision was questioned by the president-elect. At a press conference, Yamandú Orsi said that he thought it was inappropriate for the contract to be signed. He said:
“Tomorrow (Thursday) I sent a note to the President of the Republic with my specific position. It has to do with the discrepancy in the sense of the opportunity for the signing. There is an issue of content and we have stated our views on this. It is true that what is signed leaves room for modifications, but my contrary view has to do with the opportunity , that it is signed with so little time left for a change of government.”
Orsi said that in the future, the contract will be analyzed “what it establishes” and how “broad” the “margin of flexibility” is.
