Washington, D.C., October 18, 2010—
IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, is providing a local-currency loan equivalent to $22 million to Brazil’s Companhia Catarinense de Agua e Saneamento (CASAN) to improve its operational efficiency, which will help optimize the use of water resources in the southwestern state of Santa Catarina.
CASAN provides water and sanitation services to two-thirds of the municipalities in Santa Catarina, through concessions and other arrangements. It serves a population of 2.3 million and employs 2,300 people. IFC’s Brazilian-currency loan will provide medium-term funding that will help the company improve customer management and support programs to identify and control water loss. Because of system efficiencies, between 23 percent and 40 percent of the water produced in the state is lost, according to current estimates.
The water-loss identification and control programs include replacing or installing water meters, automating system management, and updating the customer database. CASAN plans to use these tools to reduce water losses and improve energy use through more efficient pumping and water treatment. They will also contribute to more accurate billing and better targeting of subsidies to the poor.
Walmor Paulo de Luca, the President of CASAN, said: “IFC’s investment helps us to consolidate efficiency improvement efforts that were launched several years ago. Our clients deserve good quality service, and we can deliver this by making sure that water is being used in an efficient way.”
Loy Pires, IFC Country Manager for Brazil said, “IFC's support to CASAN will help improve water services to 2.3 million people in Santa Catarina, by improving operational efficiencies in the water company and using an innovative approach that combines private sector expertise with public sector service commitment.
The IFC loan to CASAN is made under a subnational-finance business line, jointly developed by IFC and the World Bank, that provides financing without sovereign guarantees to well-run local governments and public enterprises for essential infrastructure investments. Projects are identified and appraised jointly by World Bank and IFC team members, and build upon the World Bank’s longstanding engagement in infrastructure sectors.
In Brazil, IFC’s strategy in the water sector has been to help both public and private utilities to expand service coverage, while conserving water and energy resources. This is IFC’s second subnational finance project in Brazil.
About IFC
IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, is the largest global development institution focused on the private sector in developing countries. We create opportunity for people to escape poverty and improve their lives. We do so by providing financing to help businesses employ more people and supply essential services, by mobilizing capital from others, and by delivering advisory services to ensure sustainable development. In a time of global economic uncertainty, our new investments climbed to a record $18 billion in fiscal 2010. For more information, visit
www.ifc.org
.
About CASAN
Established in 1971, CASAN operates water and sewage systems in the State of Santa Catarina, located in the South of Brazil. The company provides water and sewage services to a broad range of residential, commercial, industrial and governmental customers in 203 of the 293 municipalities in the state. For more information, visit
http://www.casan.com.br
.
