The Ministry of Housing and Urbanism (Minvu) and Aguas Andinas agreed on a mechanism to accelerate the sanitary evaluation of land intended for social housing projects in the Metropolitan Region. The agreement sets deadlines to analyze the connection of these lands to the drinking water and sewer networks and, when appropriate, to expand the company’s operational area.
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The agreement establishes a permanent coordination instance between the ministry and Aguas Andinas to evaluate the lands and projects that Minvu considers a priority. The mechanism will be applied especially to those located outside the company’s current operational territory.
The Minister of Housing, Iván Poduje, highlighted that the agreement will allow expanding the coverage of drinking water to areas where new projects are developed. “I want to thank Aguas Andinas for this initiative that shows it is possible to reach a public-private agreement on such an important issue. I want to invite other companies to join and for us to continue advancing in this.”
The general manager of Aguas Andinas, José Sáez Albornoz, stated that the agreement offers a formula to “unblock knots that prevent progress on matters that impact people’s quality of life, because we have seen its positive results. We are convinced that collaborative alliances always lead to the best results, because they bring positions closer and speed up processes for the benefit of the population and allow them to live in healthy environments.”
The procedure will allow Minvu to inform Aguas Andinas of lands, sectors, or housing projects that are in the analysis, planning, or development phase and are outside the company’s operational territory.
After receiving that information, Aguas Andinas will have 15 days to provide the necessary technical and regulatory background for the analysis. Once that background is received, it will have 20 business days to issue its sanitary feasibility evaluation.
The analysis must determine, among other aspects, the connection points to the drinking water and sewer networks, the possible need for pumping stations, and the additional works necessary to have sufficient capacity.
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The mechanism is already being applied to a land in San Bernardo, where work is underway to enable land for a project of 5,200 homes.
Once the technical conditions are confirmed by Minvu and the other agencies involved in the process, Aguas Andinas will issue a sanitary pre-feasibility certificate for the evaluated lands. Subsequently, the parties may sign an agreement to expand the operational territory.
This last step will allow the company to request the corresponding concession before the Superintendence of Sanitary Services (SISS). Aguas Andinas will then be able to issue the definitive feasibility certificate under the previously established terms.
The agreement seeks to reduce the time needed to sanitarily enable lands intended for social housing, through coordination between the ministry and the company responsible for the drinking water and sewer networks.
Aguas Andinas has expanded its sanitary service coverage from 3.6 million to 6.1 million customers over the last two decades, according to the company itself, with the incorporation of more than 112,000 new customers per year.
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