A major milestone has been reached in Chile’s efforts to strengthen water security with the financial close of a $460 million water reuse facility in the Antofagasta region. The project, awarded by Econssa and set under a 35-year concession, represents one of the most significant developments of its kind in Latin America in terms of scale and technical ambition.
Sacyr Water confirmed the agreement, with financing provided by Banco Estado, BTG Pactual and Banco Internacional. The transaction stands out due to the complexity involved in structuring a large-scale water reuse project, setting a precedent for similar initiatives in the region.
The facility will be the largest in Latin America and will focus on reuse water for the mining industry
The facility is expected to become the largest water reuse plant in Latin America. It will primarily supply reclaimed water to the mining industry, helping to alleviate pressure on scarce freshwater resources while improving sustainability indicators in northern Chile. The development is also projected to generate more than 500 jobs.
“This concession will mark a pioneering trend in wastewater reuse”, said Lucas de Marcos, Sacyr Water's manager in Chile, highlighting the broader impact of the project.
Located in Antofagasta, the plant will treat pre-processed wastewater sourced from an existing facility and transport it 16 kilometres to the Salar del Carmen site. This includes a 5.4-kilometre section crossing urban areas, to be executed using microtunnelling techniques.
Additional pipelines of 24 kilometres each will connect the system to La Negra and Mantos Blancos. The plant is designed to reach a treatment capacity of 900 litres per second and is expected to be operational by 2028, reinforcing long-term water resilience in the region.
