The planned Rosarito seawater desalination project in Mexico close to the US border took a step nearer on 22 May 2014 when Consolidated Water Co Ltd announced that it had completed the land purchase for the project.
Consolidated is pursuing the 100 MGD (378 million m³/d) reverse-osmosis (RO) project through its 99.9% owned Mexico subsidiary NSC Agua SA de CV in Rosarito Beach, Baja California. It would include a pipeline to deliver water to the Mexican network and the US border close to San Diego.
If NSC is successful in obtaining the water purchase and other agreements and approvals required and can complete the project, the company expects to retain a minority ownership in the project and participate in the operation of the plant and pipeline system.
“These land purchases represent a significant milestone in the progress of our proposed Mexico desalination project,” commented Rick McTaggart, Consolidated’s CEO. “We believe the site we have acquired represents the best possible location for a northern Baja California desalination plant, as it is adjacent to a pre-existing source of feed water for the plant and is of sufficient size to accommodate a 100 MGD facility.”
“The total purchase price we paid of just over US$ 20 million for this site demonstrates our confidence in the viability of the project and our commitment to its completion,” McTaggart added.