Tedagua will build the Gamboa drinking water treatment plant in Panama for 220 million euros

The Gamboa drinking water treatment plant, one of the largest water treatment efforts undertaken by the National Government of the Republic of Panama, through the Instituto de Acueductos y Alcantarillados Nacionales (National Aqueduct and Sewer System Institute, IDAAN), intends to fulfill the “100% Agua Potable – Cero Letrinas” ("100% Drinking Water - Zero Latrines") plan enacted by President Juan Carlos Varela. Among seven major bidding consortiums, the IDAAN ultimately awarded the project to Consorcio Agua para Gamboa, composed of TEDAGUA and Panamanian construction company Constructores Civiles Generales (COCIGE) in equal shares.

The Office of the Comptroller General of the Republic of Panama has already authenticated the contract that had been entered into between the IDAAN and the Consortium for the Analysis, Design, Construction, Operation and Maintenance of the Gamboa Drinking Water Treatment Plant. The new plant will be named "José 'Pepe' Fierro" as a homage to the three-times Executive Director of the IDAAN. With an awarded budget of 239 million dollars (about 220 million euros), it is to be completed within 765 days, including the analysis and design phase. Once the works are accepted by the IDAAN, a three-year period of commercial operations will begin at the facility where IDAAN personnel is to be trained in its adequate operation and maintenance. 

The works to be performed include headworks located on the Chagrés River, a short distance before its mouth in Lake Gatún, which is a natural route for ships crossing the Panama Channel. A pumping station will be constructed in these headworks which, by means of an 11-kilometer 1,800mm (72") ductile cast iron conveyance pipeline, will lift the water up to the treatment plant. The plant will have a guaranteed production capacity of 60 MGD (227,100 m3/day) , with the possibility of being increased to 322,000 m3/day (85 MGD), and will connect to the existing water network in Panama City by means of a 19 km pipeline with similar characteristics as those of the conveyance pipeline.

This new project will bolster the systems of the Occidente II line of the water network, guaranteeing a 24/7 water supply to a population of over 235,000 Panamanian residents of the Ancón, San Felipe, San Francisco, El Chorrillo, Santa Ana, Calidonia, Curundú, Bethania and Bella Vista corregimientos, as well as part of the Ricardo J. Alfaro avenue, of Panama City. In the words of President Juan Carlos Varela on the day of the financial bid opening, “the step we are taking today represents a major accomplishment for the IDAAN, since it will increase drinking water production to cover 100% of the capital city's water needs.' 

With this new contract, Tedagua manages to gain a foothold in Panama, where Grupo Cobra -the most important group of ACS in its industrial sector- has been present for more than 15 years. With close to 900 employees and over 300 vehicles, and with work centers in the provinces of Colón, Coclé, Herrera, Veraguas, Chiriquí and Panama City, Grupo Cobra is the main contractor of two of the major electric power distribution companies of Panama: Gas Natural Fenosa, which manages concessions from the border with Costa Rica to the capital city, and ENSA, which controls the northern region of Panama down to the border with Darién. In addition, it has worked alongside other consortiums on Line 1 of the Metro, the expansion of Panama City's Corredor Norte and the Wind Farms of the province of Coclé.