El Salvador is moving forward with innovative projects to expand access to safe drinking water, with a new underground dam planned in partnership with Korea Water Resources Corporation (K-water). This will be the country’s first such infrastructure.
Jorge Castaneda, president of the National Administration of Aqueducts and Sewers (ANDA), explained that the project will harness an underground river in the Santiago Texacuangos area. “What would be built underground is a series of containment systems. In this case, we would be taking advantage of the underground river that exists in the area. It is a new project currently in the formulation stage. We already have the budget and are seeking financing, which could potentially benefit more than 110,000 inhabitants of Santiago Texacuangos and nearby areas,” he said.
The planned subterranean reservoir is expected to cost approximately $150 million. Castaneda highlighted that K-water brings international expertise in rainwater management, drinking water, wastewater, and energy, serving nearly 25 million people in South Korea.