A desalination plant in Baja California. A large-scale water storage project in the Mexico City metropolitan area. A flood prevention initiative in Tabasco. A new system of reservoirs in Sonora.
All these water infrastructure projects — and more than a dozen more — are slated to be built in the coming years in Mexico, a country where water scarcity is a major concern.
National Water Commission (Conagua) General Director Efraín Morales said Wednesday at President Claudia Sheinbaum’s morning press conference that federal and state authorities will invest more than 120 billion pesos in strategic water infrastructure projects between 2025 and 2030.
“As you will remember, last November we presented the National Water Plan, which has the fundamental objective of guaranteeing the human right to water,” he said.
“Today we’re going to present the progress on the infrastructure projects we have,” Morales said.
The Conagua chief noted that the 17 “strategic” water projects will be undertaken in parts of Mexico with “the greatest water scarcity.” The total investment in the projects during the current six-year term of government will be around 122.6 billion pesos (US $6.07 billion), Morales said.
He said that the outlay this year will be 15 billion pesos, and noted that the projects will benefit approximately 36 million people, or about 28% of Mexico’s population.
The list of projects
Morales presented brief details about the federal government’s 17 strategic water projects.
The 17 projects include:
*A desalination plant in Rosarito, Baja California, that will supply water to almost 1 million residents of that city and Tijuana. Total investment will be around 12 billion pesos, with 4 billion pesos of that amount coming from the Baja California government. Work is slated to commence in November after a tendering process in October. The project is scheduled for completion in 2028.
*A reservoir (Presa El Novillo) in Baja California Sur that will benefit “more than 250,000 residents of the city of La Paz.” Total investment will be around 1.42 billion pesos. Work is slated to commence in August after a tendering process in July. The project is scheduled for completion in 2027.
*A reservoir (Presa Tunal II) in Durango that will supply water to Durango city. The project will benefit 333,000 people. Total investment will be 3.98 billion pesos. Construction is slated to commence in June after a tendering process in May. The project is scheduled for completion in 2027.
*A reservoir (Presa Milpillas) in Zacatecas that will benefit more than half a million residents of the state. Total investment will be around 8.9 billion pesos. Work is slated to commence in August after a tendering process in July. The project is scheduled for completion in 2028.
*A large-scale water storage and flood prevention initiative in the Valley of Mexico metropolitan area.
“It’s a very ambitious project whose main objective is to develop projects for the storage of water in Mexico City, México state and Hidalgo,” Morales said.
The project will benefit 21.6 million people. Total investment will be 50 billion pesos. Work is slated to commence in October after a tendering process in September. The project is scheduled for completion in 2030.
*An aqueduct in Colima that will complement an existing aqueduct in the Pacific coast state. The project will benefit 238,000 people and total investment will be 1.78 billion pesos. Work is slated to commence in July after a tendering process in June. The project is scheduled for completion in 2027.
*A water supply and flood prevention initiative in 10 municipalities in the eastern part of México state. The project will benefit 6.4 million people. Total investment will be 2.51 billion pesos. Work has already begun and the project is scheduled for completion in 2028
*A water supply and flood prevention initiative in Guerrero. The project is part of the government’s “Transforming Acapulco with You” hurricane recovery plan. Total investment will be 8 billion pesos. Work is slated to commence in May after a tendering process in April. The project is scheduled for completion in 2030 and will benefit almost 800,000 people.
*A reservoir (Presa Paso Ancho) in Oaxaca that will benefit almost 650,000 people in the Oaxaca city metropolitan area. Total investment will be 4.6 billion pesos. Work is slated to commence in August after a tendering process in July. The project is scheduled for completion in 2027.
A water distribution initiative in Campeche that includes the construction of an aqueduct. The aqueduct will supply water to Campeche city, benefiting more than 250,000 people. Total investment will be 1.38 billion pesos. Work is slated to commence in July after a tendering process in June. The project is scheduled for completion in 2027.
A flood prevention initiative in Tabasco that will benefit 340,000 people. Total investment will be 2.4 billion pesos. Work is slated to commence in May after a tendering process in April. The project is scheduled for completion in 2030.
An aqueduct in Coatzacoalcos, Veracruz, that will benefit 475,000 people. Total investment will be 1.55 billion pesos. Work is slated to commence in August after a tendering process in July. The project is scheduled for completion in 2027.
An aqueduct in Guanajuato from the Solís reservoir to the city of León. The project will benefit 1.8 million people. Total investment will be 15 billion pesos. Work is slated to commence in September after a tendering process in August. The project is scheduled for completion in 2028.
An aqueduct in Ciudad Victoria, Tamaulipas, that will benefit 147,000 people. Total investment will be 1.79 billion pesos. Work is slated to commence in May after a tendering process in April. The project is scheduled for completion in 2027.
A reservoir (Presa Las Escobas) in San Luis Potosí “that will guarantee potable water supply for the city of San Luis Potosí.” The project will benefit 69,000 people. Total investment will be 600 million pesos. Work is slated to commence in August after a tendering process in July. The project is scheduled for completion in 2026.
The construction of trunk mains in the Laguna region of Coahuila that will supply water to four municipalities. The project will benefit 144,000 people. Total investment will be 1.8 billion pesos. Work is slated to commence in May after a tendering process in April. The project is scheduled for completion in 2026.
A system of reservoirs in Sonora that will supply water to Hermosillo, the state capital. The project will benefit almost 900,000 people. Total investment will be 7.5 billion pesos. Work is slated to commence in July after a tendering process in June. The project is scheduled for completion in 2027.
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