CRAMSA

CRAMSA submitted for environmental assessment a project that will increase water availability in the Antofagasta Region.

After four years of early engagement with diverse communities, the company submitted the Environmental Impact Study for the ‘Aguas Marítimas’ initiative for assessment. This is the country’s largest desalination project.

In order to increase water availability in the Antofagasta Region, and after four years of intense work with different communities, CRAMSA submitted the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) of the ‘Aguas Marítimas’ project to the Environmental Evaluation Service (SEA).

The initiative, which considers an investment of around US$ 5 billion, contemplates the construction of a desalination plant in the Caleta Bolfin sector, located 15 kilometers south of the urban limit of Antofagasta, which will increase the water resource for the communes of Antofagasta, Calama and Sierra Gorda.

“This is the largest non-mining project in the country, which will contribute to solve the water supply needs in the region, both for human consumption and for the industrial, mining and agricultural sectors, being a contribution to the sustainable development and welfare of thousands of people”, explained CRAMSA’s general manager, Peter Hatton.

The project to be evaluated considers producing 700,000 m3 of water per day by desalinating seawater.

“In the future, this CRAMSA project will enable the delivery of water for human consumption in the communes of Antofagasta, Calama and Sierra Gorda, either through the concessionary sanitation companies, or in support of the Rural Potable Water (R.P.W) systems to ensure their service and even expand it if necessary”, highlighted the executive.

Early involvement

The EIA of the ‘Aguas Marítimas’ project was submitted for evaluation after extensive collaborative work with the communities in the area, a process that culminated in four instances of Early Citizen Participation (PACA) in Antofagasta, Calama and Baquedano, where experts discussed issues of community interest in depth, explaining details of the engineering works, environmental plan and mitigation and compensation measures of the initiative.

“During these years we have corroborated the community’s interest in our project, collecting concerns, observations and incorporating technical improvements, in order to realize a solid initiative that will provide a concrete solution to the regional water demand, considering the needs of different unions and people in general,” said CRAMSA’s Corporate Affairs Manager, Hugo Lecaros.

The ‘Aguas Marítimas’ project, promoted by CRAMSA and which successfully submitted its EIA to the Environmental Impact Assessment System, will have a construction period that will extend for five years, a construction stage in which a peak labor of 8,500 jobs is expected.