Consolidated Water to Bid for Mexican Desalination Plant

Consolidated Water is to bid for a tender to design, build and operate the El Salitral desalination plant in Ensenada, Baja California, in north-west Mexico.

The Mex$400m ($34.3m) plant will be operated under a 20-year concession, with the concessionaire covering 60% of costs and national development bank Banobras covering the remaining 40%.

Consolidated Water CEO Rick McTaggart said that the tender deadline had been cancelled several times. “I understand the tender deadline is being extended once again until sometime in June,” he said. “We’re going to bid on it.”

Baja California state water authority CEA cancelled the tender, which was launched in November 2010, because competing firms asked for more time to prepare their offers. The firm launched the new tender in February this year.