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The recommendation to integrate NADB and BECC comes as a result of joint efforts by the institutions that began in July 2011 to streamline processes and improve coordination in their project development activities. In November 2013, management of NADB and BECC presented a proposal for full integration to the Board. A public consultation period on the proposal was held from July to September of 2014.

“NADB and BECC do important work to improve people’s lives along the border, and this historic merger will strengthen the effectiveness of our development efforts,” stated Marisa Lago, Assistant Secretary for International Markets and Development at the U.S. Department of the Treasury.

On Mexico’s part, Deputy Minister of Finance, Dr. Fernando Aportela added: “It is unique for two institutions that must work together on related mandates, to undertake, on their own, a comprehensive review of their joint strengths and weaknesses, and develop an integration plan to take advantage of their areas of opportunity within a reasonable period of time. We salute these efforts, and are convinced that the integration reform will magnify the support that both institutions already provide to the sustainable development of the border region.”

In other actions the Board approved the certification and financing of US$82.3 million for six new infrastructure projects that will benefit more than 1.55 million residents in communities along the U.S.-Mexico border.

Among the projects certified are three wastewater projects that will receive a total of US$4.89 million in grants from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) through the Border Environment Infrastructure Fund (BEIF), which is administered by NADB. These projects include a new wastewater collection system for the community of Cotton Valley in El Paso County, Texas and improvements to the existing wastewater collection systems in Mexicali and Tijuana, Baja California.

The fourth project approved by the Board is the expansion of water and wastewater services to unserved areas of the Piedra Angular Colonia in Tecate, Baja California, which will receive a grant for up to US$450,000 through NADB’s Community Assistance Program (CAP).

The Board also approved a US$76.9 million loan for two projects related to water conservation and street paving to improve air quality. The water conservation project to rehabilitate and modernize the Don Martin Irrigation District 004 located in Anahuac, Nuevo Leon, includes lining or enclosing irrigation canals and conversion to more efficient irrigation technologies. The air quality improvement project consists of paving up to 928,000 square meters (just over 100 km or 62 miles) of dirt roads in several municipalities in the state of Nuevo Leon, which is expected to reduce harmful particulate matter (PM10) in the air by an estimated 1,700 metric tons/year.

The Board welcomed the results of the first NADB/BECC impact assessment, which highlighted improved environmental and human health conditions in four communities within the rural valley of the municipality of Juarez, Chihuahua, Mexico – Praxedis G. Guerrero, El Porvenir, Guadalupe and Dr. Porfirio Parra. The study showed that an average of 94 percent of the population of these communities along the border now have access to sanitation services and have greatly reduced exposure to raw sewage.

As part of the meeting, the Board commemorated the 20th anniversary of NADB and BECC with a seminar that highlighted Infrastructure, Environment, and the U.S.-Mexico Relationship, and noted the importance of these institutions in developing and meeting shared bilateral goals. Keynote speakers included U.S. Congressman Henry Cuellar and Mexico Foreign Relations Undersecretary for North America Sergio Alcocer. The Board meeting concluded with a reception hosted by the U.S. Department of the Treasury in Washington, D.C., where U.S. Treasury Secretary Jacob J. Lew, and Fernando Aportela, Mexico’s Deputy Minister of Finance, addressed attendees.

Over the past 20 years, BECC has certified 227 projects and NADB has provided more than US$2.25 billion in loans and grants to finance 192 of those projects, which are benefitting almost 15 million residents in communities on both sides of the border. In addition, both institutions have provided US$66 million in technical assistance to support the development of projects in 165 communities.