Rio Government Pledges R$32 Billion Investments in Water and Sewage Company

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Rio Governor Wilson Witzel took part in a working meeting with representatives of the National Bank for Economic and Social Development (BNDES) on the State Water and Sewage Company (CEDAE) concession, on Friday, January 17th, at Guanabara Palace.

The meeting discussed the main measures and deadlines for CEDAE’s concession, which should be effected this year, to guarantee investments of R$32 (US$8) billion for the coming years. Starting in February, BNDES has begun a round of visits to investors abroad to attract potential CEDAE stakeholders.

“I reiterate the State Government’s commitment to effecting the concession process and, once again, I thank BNDES for its efforts”, said the governor.

Governor Witzel also commented on the recent water supply issues for consumers.

“What has happened in recent weeks is very troubling. We have found that there has been a failure to provide the service. This failure has clearly caused consumer discomfort and may have been due to interests contrary to the concession auction itself. Therefore, the Civil Police are investigating and CEDAE’s servers and employees will be interrogated”, he said.

The governor will meet with mayors in the coming weeks to discuss the bills that need to be approved in order to proceed with the concession model.

This government pledge comes after residents of several regions of Rio de Janeiro complained about the quality of the water supplied by CEDAE. The water had a strange coloration and taste even after tests conducted by the Sanitary Surveillance, which released the use of the product supplied by the company.