The Ministry for Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge (MITECO) has announced the final resolution of the second call of the Strategic Project for Economic Recovery and Transformation (PERTE) focused on the digitalization of the water cycle. With this initiative, grants totaling 300 million euros have been allocated to improve the efficiency of the urban water cycle throughout Spain.
In this second call, 50 projects have been selected to receive funding, with grants ranging from 675,000 euros to 10 million euros per project. The percentage of financing exceeds 80% of the budget for each project, reaching even 100% in some cases. The projects are distributed throughout the national territory, reaching 1,155 municipalities and benefiting a population of more than 13 million inhabitants.
The beneficiaries of these projects are diverse, including operators and holders of urban water service, local entities, public companies, and private operators. More than a hundred entities will benefit, many of which have submitted joint applications. Among these, 70 public entities have received grants, ranging from city councils and municipal companies to consortiums.
The main objective of the initiative is to promote the transition to digitalization in the water sector, improving the management of this resource from abstraction to treatment. This not only optimizes the efficiency and sustainability of the integral water cycle but also prepares the sector to face new regulatory challenges.
The digitalization PERTE of the water cycle, along with the upcoming call for irrigation users, has already mobilized more than 950 million euros. These funds include financing for urban operators, autonomous communities, and river basin authorities. A new call for water use in irrigation, with a budget of 100 million euros, is expected to be published soon.
In addition, MITECO is conducting a public consultation for a third call for grants for the urban water cycle, which will be financed with resources from the Recovery, Transformation, and Resilience Plan (PRTR), considering at least 50 million euros. Likewise, the government plans to launch a financing line for the digitalization of water uses through loans from the Official Credit Institute (ICO), with a projected investment of 735 million euros in total.
This series of actions sets a precedent towards a more modern and adapted management to the current needs of water, considering both the urban and industrial environment, and reaffirms the government’s commitment to the sustainability and efficiency of the water resource.
via: MiMub in Spanish
