By Andre Bagoo Friday, February 3 2012

SPANISH company, Agbar, has been awarded a $5.2 million consultancy contract for four months of work by the Water and Sewerage Authority (WASA) to make recommendations over the future operations of WASA, the Spanish firm announced yesterday.

The contract is aimed at getting Agbar to come up with a detailed road-map and action plan in order to transform WASA over the next five years, according to the Catalan company in a statement issued on its website yesterday. The contract is worth Euros 600,000 (TT$5.2 million).

According to its website, Agbar is based in Barcelona and specialises in the management of water supply and the environment. The company has a history spanning 147 years and has a presence in Spain, Cuba, Colombia, Chile, Mexico, the United Kingdom, Algeria and Peru. The company offers expertise in, water treatment, water quality control, hydraulic infrastructure, training, network efficiency, wastewater management and energy efficiency. Agbar has said that it began work on the contract in January, and the duration of the contract is expected to be four months.

Checks by Newsday yesterday showed that Agbar does not appear to be registered in Trinidad and Tobago. There was no announcement of the contract on WASA’s website up to yesterday afternoon. Efforts to contact WASA CEO, Ganga Singh, yesterday were unsuccessful.

News of the award of the contract comes as the Parliament today is set to debate a motion to approve increases in WASA water rates for the Point Lisas Industrial Estate. It also comes after several months of complaints over the operation of WASA, including the recurring problem of chronic water shortages due to shut-downs at controversial desalination plants. There have in the past been reports of plans to privatise WASA.