AyA in Talks for us$112 Million Water Program
Costa Rica's Instituto Costarricense de Acueductos y Alcanterillados (AyA) - aqueducts and sewerage  - is applying for a US$112 million dollar loan from the Central American Bank for Economic Integration (Cabei) to finance a program to improve capital San José's potable water supply.

The program is necessary "because water availability is right now the same as demand," AyA president Rafael Villalta told BNamericas.

"In the capital, we will replace about 600-700km of the distribution system because the system is 25 years old and totally obsolete, which causes huge losses of water.

"We will replace the system with high-density polyethylene and improve the 15 potable water plants, increasing storage capacity, completely automate the control center to be able to manage the metropolitan aqueduct from a computer, and we will also carry out some significant improvements in the catchments and distribution of water," he said.

Works will be carried out under construction contracts. AyA will remain in charge of water services and will not offer them under concessions, Villalta said.

The water authority expects works to begin in 2006, he added, which will benefit more than one million people in the metropolitan area.