News

• BECC/NADB Board held its biannual public meeting
• Coordination Agreement signed by NADB, BECC and CANACINTRA
• NADB and Mission Solar Energy to install solar power facility for pediatric cancer center in Tijuana, B.C.

San Antonio, Texas. – The Board of Directors of the Border Environment Cooperation Commission (BECC) and the North American Development Bank (NADB) has approved three new environmental infrastructure projects in the water and wastewater sector, representing an estimated total investment of US$28.4 million. These projects, which altogether will receive US$13.3 million in grant funding, will benefit about 35,500 residents in the communities of Nogales, Sonora; Douglas, Arizona; and El Paso, Texas.

Grant funding totaling US$12.8 million for two of the projects will come from the Border Environment Infrastructure Fund (BEIF) sponsored by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), while the third project will be financed with a grant from NADB´s Community Assistance Program (CAP).

The city of Douglas, Arizona will receive a US$7.5 million BEIF grant for the expansion of the existing wastewater treatment plant and construction of a new wastewater collection system for the Bay Acres subdivision, providing first-time access to these services for 342 households and eliminating approximately 96,000 gallons a day (gd) of untreated wastewater. The population benefitted by this project is estimated at more than 17,300 residents.

The water utility in Nogales, Sonora, will receive a US$5.3 million BEIF grant to expand the existing water and wastewater systems to the southwest area of city, benefitting more than 16,000 residents and eliminating about 93,000 gd of untreated water discharges.

The third project approved by the BECC/NADB Board was the Vista del Este Water System Replacement Project in El Paso County, Texas, which will increase access to safe and reliable drinking water services for 340 households. The County of El Paso will receive NADB grant funding for up to US$500,000 to implement the project.

During the public session, a cooperative agreement was signed between NADB, BECC, the National Chamber of the Manufacturing Industry (CANACINTRA) and the Oportunidades para Emprendedores, S.A.P.I. de C.V. Sofom, E.N.R..(Financiera Emprendedores), a financial entity that focuses on assisting entrepreneurs to create viable and profitable businesses. The main objectives of the agreement include working together to identify projects eligible to receive NADB financing from among CANACINTRA’s affiliates, designing a joint financing mechanism with Financiera Emprendedores to facilitate access to NADB-funded loans for CANACINTRA’s affiliates, and facilitating energy efficiency training for CANACINTRA affiliates and Financiera Emprendedores staff, among others.

NADB Managing Director Geronimo Gutiérrez Fernández, BECC General Manager Maria Elena Giner, CANACINTRA National President Enrique Guillén Mondragón, and Financiera Emprendedores CEO Juan Carlos Sierra Boche, formally signed the agreement.

Finally, a Letter of Acceptance was signed between NADB, Mission Solar Energy Company of San Antonio, Texas, and the Castro Limón Foundation, A.C., to support the development of an energy efficiency project at a pediatric cancer center in Tijuana, Baja California.

Mission Solar Energy will donate solar panels for the construction of a solar power facility, and NADB will provide US$125,000 in technical assistance for the project´s design, development and implementation. The consulting firm Enertis will be responsible for supervising the project, and once the solar system is installed, the cancer center is expected to obtain substantial savings in its electricity costs.