New water code allows companies to run utilities. Establishes water police, national water authority

Parliament has ratified a new code that allows the private sector to build and run public water utilities.

Public utilities for potable water, wastewater, and irrigation can now be run through Build-Operate-Transfer or Design-Build-Operate-Transfer contracts that have a maximum period of 30 years.

Law 77, the new Water Code, establishes a 'water registry', an inventory of all water input and output, which will be updated periodically by the Ministry of Energy and Water.

It a...

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