San Antonio, Texas, Sept. 30, 2002 -- The North American Development Bank will move forward in providing six communities along the U.S.-Mexico border with more than $57.8 million in grant assistance for the construction of environmental infrastructure projects that will enhance water quality, wastewater treatment and solid waste disposal services for nearly 200,000 people who live in economically distressed areas.
The projects qualified for NADB financing this week after they were certified by the Border Environment Cooperation Commission (BECC) during its 33rd Public Board Meeting in El Paso, Texas. The Bank will administer the grant assistance through its EPA-funded Border Environment Infrastructure Fund (BEIF) and the NADB's Solid Waste Environmental Program (SWEP).
"We are pleased to expand our total portfolio of approved BEIF funds to more than $413 million and our total SWEP portfolio to $2 million with these additional commitments for U.S.-Mexico border communities," commented Jorge C. Garces, NADB Deputy Managing Director.
"Working with these border communities, we found that the BEIF and the SWEP were the most viable financing options for launching their environmental infrastructure projects because they provide incentives that will help make the communities' systems more self-sufficient."
The newly approved projects bring the NADB's current loan and grant portfolio to $450 million with commitments for 52 projects that will enhance the quality of life for more than 6 million residents of the U.S.-Mexico border region.
The NADB will provide the city of La Joya, Texas, with $27.6 million in grant assistance for construction of two wastewater treatment plants. The city of San Benito, Texas, will receive $17.9 million in grant assistance to build a water treatment plant and a wastewater treatment plant.
Also, the city of Tornillo, Texas, will receive $5.6 million in grant assistance for the construction of a sewer system administered by the El Paso County Tornillo Water Improvement District.
In addition, the city of Santa Rosa will receive $3.9 million in grant assistance for water and wastewater improvements that will extend water and sewer services to 305 colonia households. Two Mexico communities will also receive grant assistance.
The city of Ojinaga, Chihuahua, will receive US$2.1 million in grant assistance that will be applied to the construction of a wastewater treatment plant and the replacement and expansion of a sewer system, and Tecate, Baja California, will receive US$500,000 for the construction of a sanitary landfill.
The NADB's initiatives for the new projects will be accompanied by technical assistance grants from the BECC, grants and loans from the Texas Water Development Board (TWDB), and other state and federal funding. Established in 1997, the BEIF is a grant program administered by the NADB to fund and facilitate environmental infrastructure projects throughout the U.S.-Mexico border region.
EPA provided an initial contribution of $170 million for water and wastewater projects with an additional $166 million added to the fund by EPA in the past three years.
The SWEP is a grant program, established in 1999, that is funded with retained earnings from the NADB to support the financing of solid waste management projects throughout the U.S.-Mexico border region.
The North American Development Bank, created under the auspices of NAFTA, is a financial institution established and capitalized in equal parts by the U.S. and Mexico for the purpose of financing environmental infrastructure projects along their common border.
As a pioneer institution in its field, the Bank is working to develop integrated, sustainable and fiscally responsible projects with broad community support in a framework of close cooperation and coordination between Mexico and the United States.
Text of previous editions of NADB News may be viewed at http://www.nadb.org.
