Reynosa, Tamaulipas inaugurates Pump Station No. 10

Matamoros, Tamaulipas, Dec. 11, 2003 -- The City of Matamoros, Tamaulipas, broke ground Thursday on Pump Station No. 1, marking the beginning of construction of various wastewater works to be funded by a grant from the North American Development Bank (NADB) under the city's Comprehensive Wastewater Project.

Tamaulipas Governor Tomás Yarrington, accompanied by Matamoros Mayor Mario Zolezzi and NADB Managing Director Raúl Rodríguez, was on hand to kick off construction of the project, which will improve the quality of wastewater collection and treatment services for the residents of this important border city.

The pump station is estimated to cost $19.5 million pesos (US$1.74 million) to complete and includes construction of a wastewater lift station with a capacity of 6,419 gallons per minute (gpm) and a storm water lift station with 12,200 gpm capacity, as well as remodeling of the existing facilities.

The project will directly benefit 27,472 residents.

In July, the NADB and the water utility, Junta de Aguas y Drenaje de Matamoros (JAD), signed an initial grant agreement for US$15 million to help finance the city's Comprehensive Water and Wastewater Project. The grant is made available through the EPA-funded Border Environment Infrastructure Fund (BEIF).

"Start-up of these construction works is now a reality thanks to the combined efforts of the Mexican federal, state, and municipal governments, and the Bank and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)," commented Raúl Rodríguez during the ceremony. "Within the next two years we expect to sign contracts for the rest of the grant funding, which will allow Matamoros to continue construction of its wastewater infrastructure."

The NADB is providing a total of US$33 million for the first phase of the project, which is estimated to cost US$77 million and consists of the construction of a wastewater treatment plant, 16 pump stations and installation of approximately 31 miles of pipeline which will allow the utility to extend service to 81 subdivisions in the city for the benefit of more than 273,000 residents.

The rest of the funding for the first phase will come from grants provided by Mexican federal, state and local governments. In addition, the Border Environment Cooperation Commission (BECC) is providing a grant for design work through its Project Development Assistance Program (PDAP).

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 more than US$629 million in loans and grants for 69 infrastructure projects in the border 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.