CEDEX

Specialised technical assistance in the field of civil engineering and the environment

Centre for Studies and Experimentation of Public Works

The Centre for Studies and Experimentation of Public Works (CEDEX) is an autonomous body that depends organically on the Ministry of Public Works, and functionally on this Ministry and on the Ministry of Ecological Transition and Demographic Challenge (MITECO). It aims to provide highly specialised technical assistance in the field of civil engineering and the environment.

Among the centres that make up the CEDEX is the Hydrographic Studies Centre, a leading institution for studies on hydrological planning, water treatment technologies and hydraulic works, with many years of experience working in Latin America and the Caribbean.

Since 2012, CEDEX has been involved in the Water Fund through different collaboration instruments. In 2021, it worked within the framework of an order from the Secretary of State for Cooperation signed in January of the previous year, and extended for 2021.

Activities

Following with the joint activities carried out in previous years, throughout 2021, CEDEX provided technical assistance in a series of projects and actions, among which the following can be highlighted:

Cross-cutting or regional actions
CEDEX supports different regional works with the aim of systematising the knowledge generated from different projects over the last decade. This enables regional experiences to be brought together in the specific context and their experience in the field of sanitation and wastewater treatment in particular. Specifically, work has been carried out on:
- Drafting Water and Sanitation Guidelines:
  
  Publication of the Guide for Performance Test Protocols for Treatment Plants.
- Drafting recommendations for sectoral wastewater treatment planning:
  
  A collaborative effort to draft this basic guide, of which two versions have already been presented and comments and proposals from various institutions in the region are being collected.
  
  Holding a workshop on sectoral planning in sanitation and wastewater treatment.
  
  Publishing the document “Methodologies for the Estimation of Wastewater Treatment Costs in Sectoral Planning”.
- Support for the FCAS regional strategy on sectoral standards
  
  Promoting the creation of a guide to support the revision of landfill standards, in order to generate proposals that are adapted to national contexts and to the technologies available in the countries and that are not merely a transfer of other international standards that are difficult to comply with.
In addition to generic collaborations, CEDEX has also worked specifically in some of the countries in which the Fund operates. Some of the activities carried out are listed below..
BOLIVIA
- Assisting in the preparation of a guide on the implementation of wastewater treatment systems, which was finally published in October 2021 by the country’s Vice-Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation.
CUBA
- Analysing the hydrodynamic performance of the rehabilitation design of the Casablanca Wastewater Pumping Station (WWPS) in Havana. In 2021, CEDEX collaborated in the study of two alternative designs of flow calming systems, tested the hydrodynamic performance of both systems, and implemented a number of design improvements.
- Assisting in the drafting of the Havana Sanitation Plan and reviewing and developing sectoral regulations.
- Revising the sanitation and purification alternatives for the Bays of Havana and Santiago de Cuba.
GUATEMALA
- Assisting in COVID’s environmental monitoring project on wastewater in Guatemala, specifically in the Lake Atitlán basin.
- Assisting in the revision of Guatemala’s discharge regulations and collaborating in the development of new environmental quality regulations
PARAGUAY
- Assisting the sanitation activities of Asunción in the review of the Lambaré wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) project in Asunción.
- Assisting in the development of a water and sanitation training programme. Work was undertaken to shape the sectoral policy and planning course, to be held in March 2022.
EL SALVADOR
- Assisting in the review and development of El Salvador’s sectoral regulations.
PANAMA
- Preliminary actions for the drafting of the “National Guide for the Selection of Wastewater Treatment Technologies” within the framework of the implementation of the National Drinking Water and Sanitation Policy 2017-2030.
- Revising documentation on the restructuring of the Reimbursable Cooperation Programme for Sanitation in West Arraiján and La Chorrera (PSACH).

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