World Bank announces $265M loan for Buenos Aires Basin

By Bala Chambers

LONDON (AA) - A $265 million infrastructure loan has been approved for the Matanza-Riachuelo Basin in Argentina, according to reports on Monday.

The World Bank has approved the loan to improve infrastructure on the River basin in the capital Buenos Aires.

World Bank director for Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay, Jordan Schwartz said the financial organization has been actively seeking to promote "sustainable development in the Matanza-Riachuelo Basin".

"This new financing will accelerate a key component of the comprehensive solution to reduce river pollution, thus improving the quality of life of millions of people living in the basin,” he said.

He added the aim is to help the "most vulnerable population while at the same time targeting green and sustainable growth".

The project will improve the polluted wastewater system - aiming to reduce pollution by around 80%.

According to the Argentine Water and Sanitation, known by its Spanish acronym AySA, the development help will the population, benefiting over 4.3 million locals.

President of AySA, Malena Galmarini, said the initiative is a "unique infrastructure project in the world, due to the size of the construction”.

"It will improve not only the sewage transportation capacity and the quality of the service, but also the sanitation of the Matanza-Riachuelo basin thanks to the treatment of effluents,” she added.

Galmarini also thanked Argentine President Alberto Fernandez and other politicians "for their commitment to revert the situation of paralysis that the Riachuelo System had in December 2019".

The development will help an additional 1.5 million people by reducing industrial pollution.

The Sustainable Development project loan spread across 32 years.