Industria Proyecto: Water & Desalination

The state-owned desalination plant is intended to supply more than 200,000 people in the municipalities of Caldera, Chañaral, Copiapó and Tierra Amarilla. The project was financed by Econssa Chile and expects to ensure the water resource for the next 40 years. In May 2022 it was recognized at the Global Water Awards as the desalination plant of the year.

The project is being developed by Caitan SpA for BHP Billiton to improve the production of the Spence copper mine and to extend the life of the mine for more than 50 years. The transaction involves several jurisdictions and time zones were involved, which required great levels of coordination among the different teams of counsels involved and this transaction, including the need to negotiate different project documents such as EPCs, O&Ms, interface agreements, terminations and others.

The project involves the construction of a reverse osmosis plant that would produce 93 lt/s in its first stage. It will use the fishery’s existing pipelines and surplus water from its industrial process, which means that it will not have to build its own network to extract water from the sea.