SAN BENITO, TX, April 6, 2005 -- Representatives of the North American Development Bank (NADB) joined San Benito Mayor Cesar Gonzalez and other city officials in celebrating the start up of construction on a new wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) that will help the city have adequate treatment capacity to keep up with population growth.
The plant will ultimately have the capacity to treat 3.5 million gallons a day (mgd) of wastewater and will be used in conjunction with the existing lagoon system. In its first phase, the plant will treat 2.5 mgd and will be constructed at a cost of US$10.5 million.
"This is certainly a time to celebrate the City of San Benito's extraordinary progress," commented Mayor Gonzalez. "When completed, the new mechanical wastewater system will allow increased capacity for a safe, high quality, dependable collection/treatment/disposal system well into the future for residents and commercial businesses within the city."
The wastewater treatment plant is part of a US$32.44 million water and wastewater improvement project that also includes construction of an elevated water storage tank, which is almost complete, and a new water treatment plant.
NADB is providing a US$17.91 million grant through its EPA-funded Border Environment Infrastructure Fund (BEIF), as well as an US$8 million loan, to help finance the project.
With this project San Benito will have sufficient water treatment and storage capacity to meet demand and comply with Texas state regulations through 2025. In addition, the effluent generated by the WWTP will meet established standards of quality.
Since its inception in 1995, the NADB has approved more than US$702 million in loans and grants for 89 infrastructure projects in the U.S.-Mexico border region.
The North American Development Bank (www.nadb.org), created under the auspices of the North American Free Trade Agreement (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.
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