The federal government has agreed to provide 386 million pesos (US $20.5 million) to Nuevo León to build a new dam in the south of the state, the governor said yesterday.

Jaime Rodríguez Calderón said the federal money for the Libertad Dam – to be built on the boundary between the municipalities of Linares and Montemorelos – is expected to arrive shortly after Easter.

The state government will contribute another 386 million pesos to the construction costs, he explained.

The governor and former presidential candidate commonly known as “El Bronco” said that there will be a public tendering process to find a construction company for the project, which will supply water to as many as 750,000 people in the metropolitan area of Monterrey.

Earlier this month, the National Water Commission (Conagua) granted a 30-year concession for the San Fernando river basin to the state government, allowing it to move ahead with the dam project.

In the first stage of construction, an investment of 772 million pesos (US $41 million) will be needed to acquire more than 200 private and communally-owned properties in the area, and to carry out technical studies.

The dam will be built on a 2,292-hectare site and is expected to be completed in 2021.

Source: El Economista (sp)