Conagua decides if the project to transfer the vital liquid is approved, says Cuitláhuac García
The state Governor, Cuitláhuac García Jiménez, assured that the National Water Commission (Conagua) will determine if a project to bring water from the Pánuco River to Nuevo León is approved. At a press conference, he pointed out that this project will not be carried out through a concession project to an individual, but if there is another form of investment, he would have no problem carrying it out. He ruled out that the Mexican Business consortium, made up of five companies, and which won the 2014 concession with the Monterrey VI project, is the one who will carry out this project.
Questioned about the issue after the governor decided to move water from to his state, the state president said that it is an issue that Obrador should do, in the sense that it is not done through the Monterrey VI project.
Questioned on the subject after the governor of Nuevo León, Samuel García, assured that the project to transfer water from the Pánuco River to his state will be carried out, the state president said that it is an issue that Conagua must analyze under the directive of the President of the Republic, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, in the sense that it not be done through the Monterrey VI project.
“It is a decision of Conagua and follows the directive of the President of the Republic, who has already expressed his opinion and it is in the sense that it will help provide water to Monterrey, but not through the multimillion-dollar project that was approved in previous governments, therefore it is pending, they are going to decide how to help, but it is not through the project, ”he said.
He indicated that it is a decision that will be in the hands of the national body, “I do not think that Conagua will differ from the president who said that it is not through that project, but they will have to find a way.”
“It is not through that project because it is lending itself to the malevolent concession, of which there was doubt due to lack of ethics, I agree with the president because it is reasonable not to lend itself to a business concession, from an individual and a project that it was going to indebt and tie up Nuevo León, why not give it to the government,” he said.
He stated that given the magnitude of the investment required to pipe the water and bring it to that state, it is very likely that it will no longer be up to his administration to deal with the issue. “It is a very expensive project that is not going to be carried out in the next two years, if it becomes a reality, it may not even touch us, we are calm, it will not be in these years, in this administration,” he commented.
He stressed that the entity has water, so there would be no problem sending it to another entity, “Veracruz has 30 percent of the water at the national level, so there is no problem that if some other permit were given, it could support”.
GOVERNOR OF NUEVO LEÓN SAYS THAT CONAGUA HAS AUTHORIZED THE PROJECT
Last Thursday, the Governor of Nuevo León, Samuel García, stated that Conagua authorized giving water from Veracruz to Nuevo León for a total of “15 cubic meters”, although there are also alternatives for supply the city of Monterrey. “Conagua has already authorized Nuevo León for 15 cubic meters from Veracruz,” he stated.
After participating in the signing of the “Pact for Water” Commitment, he indicated that the increase in population and climate change are causing shortages, so the federation must understand that Nuevo León is in a “regional and national crisis, here They come to us from all over the country to work, to be educated and to live”.
He stressed that the past administration did not advance with the projects required by the metropolis, since its only public work, which was going to be the Libertad dam, was 30 percent complete.
He announced that next Tuesday he will meet with the president, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, to analyze all the possibilities.
IT IS NOT FEASIBLE TO REVIVE THE PROJECT
Regarding the “Monterrey VI” project, the President of the Republic, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, said that he did not see it feasible to revive the project promoted by the administration of Enrique Peña Nieto.
He stated that in the past federal administration the project was canceled because it was not possible to execute it. “The truth is also that I don’t think, although I’m not an opponent, I don’t think it’s viable, feasible, that the Pánuco project can revive, that is, it would be very difficult; only for controversy or for publicity, but it will be very difficult. The people of La Huasteca are not going to allow the water from the Pánuco to be taken to Nuevo León, and the federal government already understood it since the previous six-year term and the State Government itself,” he explained.
He mentioned that the governor of Nuevo León is concerned about the shortage of water, for which he guaranteed his support for this state in the north of the country.
“So, now I don’t see that there are conditions (to get water from the Pánuco River), I think more than we can talk to the governor of Nuevo León, help him because if water is needed, it is a commitment that we also have,” he commented. .
A DECADE-OLD PROJECT
The “Monterrey VI” project dates back at least 11 years, and it involves transferring water from the Pánuco River, through San Luis Potosí and Tamaulipas, to reach Nuevo León.
It is about carrying 15 thousand liters of water per second during the 365 days of the year, 473 million 40 thousand cubic meters per year for a period of 50 years.
This project was approved by the State Government in 2013, with the endorsement of the then head of Conagua, Iván Hillman Chapoy, as well as the then-mayor of Pánuco, Ricardo García Escalante.}
THERE IS NO OFFICIAL APPLICATION: CONAGUA
The Gulf-Central Basin Agency of the National Water Commission ( Conagua) does not have any request to supply water to the state of Nuevo León, confirmed Pablo Robles Barajas, general director of the local agency, who assured that this issue must be addressed. by the agency’s central office.
In an interview, the federal official announced that this type of project has been proposed for many years, however, the agency has not received any request for a concession processed or approved for the government of Nuevo León. “ It is more a matter of central offices due to the volume and type of work (…) it is not in the basin organizations, at least that permit does not correspond to the Central Gulf”, he said.
After the governor of this entity, Samuel García, confirmed that Conagua gave the green light to the Monterrey VI project, which aims to take 15 cubic meters of water from the Pánuco River, Robles Barajas acknowledged that the law allows this type of exchange between states to supply of the vital liquid as long as the established requirements are met. “That is valid and there are projects that are working that way. What could be done if it meets all the requirements”, he concludes.
