The State Water Commission of Baja California, Mexico, has awarded the consortium of RWL Water and its Mexican partners Libra Ingenieros and R.J. Ingenieria the San Quintín desalination PPP project.

The new facilitites will be located in San Quintín, Baja California, approximately 250 km from the U.S./Mexico border.

The project will be developed on a build, finance, operate and transfer (BFOT) basis. It will consist of the construction of a 22,000 m3/d  seawater desalination plant and the operation of the plant for 30 years.

The consortium will finance the project with a mix of equity investment and limited recourse project finance. The desalination plant will be built by RWL Water based on its own technology, know-how and project management capabilities.

In March 2014 the Government of Baja California had declared a state of water emergency for the region of San Quintín and the municipality of Ensenada. The purpose of the project is to increase access to sustainable drinking water service through the development of an additional water supply source, contributing to the preservation of groundwater resources and covering actual water demand for approximately 100,000 residents of Baja California.

SIDUE, the Secretariat of Infrastructure and Urban Development for the State of Baja California, and CEA, the State Water Commission of Baja California, issued the invitation to tender for the project on June 26, 2015. The public tender was the result of an unsolicited proposal prepared and submitted by Libra Ingenieros and R.J. Ingenieria under the new Mexican PPP Law. The plant is expected to commence operation in fall of 2017.

Henry Charrabé, President and CEO of RWL Water, stated:

"This is a major achievement of RWL Water in Mexico and confirms our business concept of providing complete high-tech water solutions with turnkey contracting and investment into our clients' water infrastructure."