CAR authorizes future appropriations for the Santa Marta WWTP in Facatativá

The Board of Directors of the Regional Autonomous Corporation of Cundinamarca (CAR) authorized the Director General to commit ordinary future budget resources for 2027 and 2028, in the amount of $91,408,642,335, charged to the investment expenditure budget. The decision was recorded in Agreement number 32 of 2026, issued on August 26 and published in the Official Gazette No. 53,622 on Thursday, September 10, 2026.

The resources will be allocated to the co-financing of the project “Construction of the Santa Marta Wastewater Treatment Plant (PTAR) Phase I in the municipality of Facatativá, Cundinamarca”, through an inter-administrative agreement with the municipality. The work addresses a structural basic sanitation problem: 90% of the urban area of Facatativá discharges its wastewater into the Botello River without adequate treatment, which deteriorates the quality of the water resource in the Bogotá River basin.

A strategic work for the Bogotá River basin

The CAR, the highest environmental authority in its jurisdiction created by Law 99 of 1993, declared the project as being of strategic importance through Agreement number 21 of 2022, as it involves environmental sanitation infrastructure associated with wastewater treatment. The initiative is part of project 03 “Environmental infrastructure for water resources” of the Four-Year Action Plan 2024-2027 and the Bogotá River Megaproject of the Regional Environmental Management Plan (PGAR) 2024-2035.

The plant will allow for the reduction of the pollutant load discharged into the Botello River, a tributary of the Balsillas River and a contributor to the Bogotá River basin, through preliminary treatment units, secondary treatment via oxidation ditches, sedimentation, disinfection, and sludge management. The design complies with Resolution number 0330 of 2017 and its modifications, incorporating criteria for hydraulic efficiency, operational reliability, environmental sustainability, and future expansion capacity.

Co-financing and contributions

For the execution of the inter-administrative agreement, the parties will make the following contributions:

• CAR: $91,408,642,336, distributed as $54,845,185,401 for 2027 and $36,563,456,934 for 2028.
• Municipality of Facatativá: $1,000,000,000 in the 2026 fiscal year.
• Project Total: $183,817,284,671, which includes construction for $173,793,764,565 and supervision (interventoría) for $9,023,520,106.

The process was supported by the Budget Availability Certificate number 26602036 of August 6, 2026, the favorable prior opinion from the Planning Advisory Office on August 11, and the financial viability certificate issued by the Financial Directorate on August 19, 2026.

Budgetary process and monitoring

The authorization is based on Article 37 of the Corporation’s Budgetary Statute and Article 3 of Agreement number 83 of 2024, which allows for the commitment of future appropriations that exceed the administration’s term for investment projects declared of strategic importance. Resources not used by December 31, 2026, will expire in accordance with Agreement number 02 of 2021.

The General Directorate must present a semi-annual report to the Board of Directors on the execution of resources, breaking down the investments and the progress of the projects executed under this budgetary mechanism. The agreement was signed by the president of the Board of Directors, Carolina Español Casallas, and the secretary, Julio César Franco Vargas.

The approval of these future appropriations represents a decisive step for the sanitation of the Bogotá River basin and compliance with the orders of the Bogotá River Sentence. The Santa Marta WWTP Phase I will treat the wastewater of 90% of the urban population of Facatativá, improving health conditions and reducing risks associated with environmental pollution for present and future generations.

Source: Official Gazette, No. 53,622, September 10, 2026, Regional Autonomous Corporations, p. 49 (official reference: Agreement number 32 of 2026).