San Antonio, Texas, Sept. 29, 2003 - The City of Bisbee, Arizona, will receive US$11.3 million in grant assistance for its wastewater system improvements project from the North American Development Bank (NADB) through the EPA-funded Border Environment Infrastructure Fund (BEIF).
The grant for the project was approved by the NADB after certification by the Border Environment Cooperation Commission (BECC) yesterday. Bisbee is located in Cochise County, approximately 100 miles southeast of Tucson and about four miles north of the U.S.-Mexico border.
The proposed project consists of the rehabilitation and replacement of the most undersized and deteriorated sections of the existing collection system and the construction of a new activated sludge wastewater treatment plant to replace the three existing facilities. The new plant will have increased capacity to accommodate the needs of the community for a minimum of 20 years and will provide preliminary, secondary and advanced treatment, as well as enhanced disinfection.
The total cost of the project is expected to be approximately $30 million. Others providing assistance for the project include the U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development (USDA-RD), the Arizona Water and Infrastructure Finance Authority (WIFA), and equity funds from the City. In addition, the BECC is providing a grant through its Project Development Assistance Program (PDAP) for design.
Through its BEIF program, the NADB has approved more than US$481.6 million in EPA-funded grants to support the construction of environmental infrastructure in various communities, which will benefit residents on both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border. Since its inception in 1995, the NADB has approved US$628 million in loans and grants for 68 infrastructure projects in the region.
For more information on the NADB, visit www.nadb.org.
The North American Development Bank, created under the auspices of NAFTA, is a financial institution established and capitalized in equal parts by the United States 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.
For more information from the North American Development Bank, visit http://www.nadb.org.
