Chihuahua Governor-elect Javier Corral visits with NADB and BECC

During the meeting, Governor-elect Corral stated that this was “a very productive meeting because we are learning about all the opportunities for collaboration and work to promote an agenda committed to the environment and sustainable development and mainly because it puts the border at the top of the agenda, which is one of our priorities as governor.”

In Chihuahua, the two institutions have certified and financed 31 environmental infrastructure projects, primarily in the sectors of water, wastewater, solid waste management, and air quality through roadway improvements. Altogether, these projects have received more than US$150 million in loans and grants for their implementation.

It was further emphasized that Ciudad Juarez and the three municipalities in the Juarez Valley have greatly benefited from several wastewater projects, including the construction of eleven wastewater treatment plants (four in Juarez and seven in the Juarez Valley) that have increased treatment capacity to 100% of all collected wastewater, benefitting more than 1.4 million residents. Together, these projects represent almost six cubic meters per second of treatment capacity that result in major health benefits and improve the border environment.

“The purpose of the meeting was to review the status of all the projects that BECC and NADB have developed in Chihuahua and to identify areas where we will be working with the new administration in the future,” stated NADB Managing Director Geronimo Gutiérrez.

“In the water sector, we have agreed to work first on modernizing the water utilities and improving their energy efficiency, and secondly on renewable energy,” he added.

Geronimo Gutierrez informed that the NADB is financing the first utility-scale solar energy project in Chihuahua, and the idea is to expand this area to take advantage of the state’s solar potential.

BECC General Manager Maria Elena Giner indicated that this “was a great meeting with Governor-elect Corral. We were able to identify opportunities for collaboration with Chihuahua, which is of special interest to BECC as we are headquartered here in Ciudad Juarez and have a long and close relationship with the state of Chihuahua.”  She added that “we have a great deal of experience that we can share on issues related to water, energy, waste and transportation.”

A follow-up meeting was scheduled for the second week of September in the state capital with those responsible for infrastructure, urban development and environment, to explore the following areas of collaboration that are of interest to the Governor-elect:
1. Opportunities to help modernize water utility systems in Juarez and Chihuahua and arrange energy audits to identify possible improvement projects for local utilities.
2. In the energy sector, review the State Climate Change Action Plan (SCAP) developed with the support of the institutions and identify possible renewable energy projects in the pipeline that could supply energy to the state government, state water utilities, and universities, among others.
3. Promote the green infrastructure initiative in various Chihuahua municipalities. The Governor-elect was pleased to accept the invitation to have a member of his team attend the Green Infrastructure Forum that BECC and NADB are hosting in Saltillo on September 21 and 22.