Veolia secures contract to operate Chile's first desalination plant

Veolia was awarded the Operation and Maintenance (O&M) contract for the Aguas Pacífico multipurpose desalination plant in Valparaíso, the first in Chile (1,000 L/s), ahead of five leading national and international companies that were part of the tender. Veolia, leader in ecological transformation with more than 170 years of global experience and over 50 years of expertise in the operation and maintenance of desalination plants. As the world leader in desalination, Veolia has designed and built 18% of the global installed desalination capacity using its technologies, reaffirming its position as a benchmark in the sustainable management of water resources worldwide.

Stages and scope of the O&M contract
The contract begins with a support phase for the commissioning of the plant and the aqueduct, or start-up phase. Once the operational condition is reached—producing 1,000 l/s of desalinated water and transporting it to the final customers in the interior of the Valparaíso Region and the Metropolitan Region—the Operation and Maintenance phase begins for both the desalination plant and the aqueduct and its storage works (tanks). Both phases have a duration of up to 4 years, after which contract extension clauses may apply, potentially extending the contract until 2040.

The operation of the Aguas Pacífico Desalination Plant considers 100% use of renewable energies, 60% local labor, delivery of water to Rural Sanitary Services (formerly APR) in Limache and Olmué affected by the drought, and the use of the most advanced technologies in marine intake and outfall systems to protect the ocean.

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