Cayman Islands company Consolidated Water Co is back on board the Rosarito desalination project in Baja California, Mexico. The 100 MGD (375,000 m³/d) seawater plant is designed to supply drinking water demand on both sides of the US/Mexico border.
Rick McTaggart, Consolidated CEO, made the announcement while reporting on the company’s annual figures on 15 March 2012.
“I am pleased to report that we have negotiated an agreement with one of the other shareholders in our Mexican joint venture, NSC Agua SA de CV (NSC),” said McTaggart, “and we now control 75% of the shares of NSC.
In November 2012, Consolidated announced that it was looking to sell its 50% stake in the project, which will be sited near the US border about 30 miles (50 km) from San Diego.
With the resolution of certain internal NSC issues that delayed the project, the company is moving forward with the Rosarito desalination project, McTaggart now says. “We are enthusiastic about this project and its prospects for success given the growing need for water on both sides of the US-Mexico border.”
“Recent natural events, including the earthquake in Mexicali in April 2010 and increasingly frequent droughts on the Colorado River system, have highlighted the fragility of existing water resources and heightened interest in seawater desalination as a permanent solution to water problems in the region,” he added.
Taggart also reported that Consolidated had deployed full-time engineering and management assets to Asia, where the company was pursuing several new projects in markets that have characteristics similar to its traditional Caribbean market, including tourism-based economies, stable political and economic environments and limited supplies of potable water. He expected some of these projects to materialize soon and hoped to initiate business in Asia by the end of 2012.