BECC and Private Sector meet in Chihuahua, Mexico

The event was a joint coordination effort between Economic Development of Chihuahua (Desarrollo Económico de Chihuahua, A.C.), the National Chamber of the Electronic, Telecommunications, and the Information Technology Industries, Canacintra-Chihuahua, and Chihuahua’s Secretariat of Communications and Public Works.

Presiding over the  workshop were BECC’s Deputy General Manager José Mario Sánchez-Soledad and NADB’s Deputy Managing Director Alex Hinojosa.

By the end of the event, 21 potential projects with an estimated cost of US $110 million had been identified, including photovoltaic energy projects, paving and lighting systems for a housing development, scrap tire recycling to produce crumb rubber, wastewater treatment plants (for industrial parks and housing developments), wastewater reclamation systems for production processes, cogeneration systems, biodiesel production at an industrial park, methane gas capture for electricity generation in stables, energy efficiency systems, solar panels and water conservation in sustainable pecan farming projects in Meoqui, a biomass project in Cuauhtemoc, and an urban housing development with green landscaping. 

On behalf of Secretary of Communications and Public Works Javier Alfonso Garfio-Pacheco, Arturo Llamas thanked the organizers for hosting the workshop. He said the government of Chihuahua is reviewing alternatives to promote energy efficiency and the use of renewable energy in the industry, as well as the education and health sectors, in addition to exploring options to replace street lighting in various municipalities. In closing, he gave special thanks to BECC and NADB for their valuable  assistance with the photovoltaic energy project for the Chihuahua Children’s Hospital. 

BECC Deputy General Manager, José Mario Sánchez Soledad said that the private sector initiative promoted by these two institutions along the U.S.-Mexico border region focuses on industries with high energy consumption or that use large amounts of water, including maquiladoras (twin plants) with major equipment needs, industrial wastewater treatment, and waste management. It also targets industrial parks that need to improve their infrastructure, including lighting, treatment facilities, and waste management, as well as construction companies that are developing  sustainable projects.” Hence the importance of this workshop, he stated. 

NADB’s Deputy Managing Director Alex Hinojosa stated that the purpose of the meeting was “to present what the two institutions can do to develop projects within our geographic mandate area, so the private sector can have financing structures that are appropriate to their specific needs.” The workshop emphasized the BECC/NADB scheme as a competitive option to finance environmental infrastructure and renewable energy projects along Mexico’s northern border.   

With the diversification of its project portfolio, in addition to financing basic infrastructure projects, NADB has taken on projects related to transportation systems, roadways, border crossings, and renewable energy, among many others.