Santo Domingo.- The National Institute of Drinking Water and Sewage (Inapa) reported the progress achieved in the Project to Improve Water Supply and Wastewater Services for Moca and Gaspar Hernández, financed by the World Bank through loan IBRD 9242-DO.

The project is part of a financing operation signed between the Dominican State and the World Bank, whose execution is in charge of Inapa.

Its purpose is to strengthen, expand and modernize infrastructure and capacities linked to drinking water and sanitation services in Moca and Gaspar Hernández, in coordination with Coraamoca as the local operator of said systems.

Inapa explained that the project has not been stopped. During its preparation and execution stage, feasibility studies, bidding and receipt of final designs, topographic surveys, preliminary diagnoses of existing networks, environmental and social instruments, community consultations, acquisition of the land required for the new Gaspar Hernández wastewater treatment plant, institutional strengthening of Coraamoca, preparation of bidding documents, acquisition of heavy vehicles such as hydrosuction trucks to support cleaning and maintenance tasks have been carried out. and attention to obstructions in health networks, and contracting processes in accordance with the technical, fiduciary, environmental and social standards required by the World Bank.

One of the relevant advances corresponds to the La Dura water treatment plant, essential infrastructure for the supply of drinking water in Moca and surrounding communities.

On March 13, the contract initiation ceremony for the rehabilitation of said plant was held, an intervention that contemplates relevant improvements in key components of the treatment system.

Within the framework of the project, preparatory and electromechanical interventions have been carried out, as well as the rehabilitation of the water quality laboratory and the acquisition of new equipment to strengthen the capacity for analysis and control of treated water.

Likewise, the comprehensive rehabilitation includes the acquisition of specialized equipment and supplies for flocculation, sedimentation, filtration, chlorination, chemical dosing processes, valves, gates, electromechanical systems and other elements necessary to improve the operation of the plant.

Due to the specialized nature of this equipment, a significant portion must be manufactured or supplied from abroad. These orders are already in progress and their arrival is expected between October and November, to later advance with their installation and commissioning according to the contract schedule.

In addition to La Dura, the project has made progress in operational and institutional strengthening interventions, including electromechanical improvements in Coraamoca infrastructure, energy diagnosis, network surveys, non-revenue water reduction strategy, training of technical personnel and preparation of contracting processes for the main sanitation works.

Likewise, within the sanitation component, the works corresponding to the sectors of Residencial Moca, in the municipality of Moca, and María Trinidad Sánchez, in Gaspar Hernández, are in the positioning phase.

The technical supervision teams formally began their positioning and deployment in the field on June 11, 2026, establishing the logistical and topographic conditions required to advance towards the physical start of the work as of July 2026, in accordance with the unified intervention schedule.

Regarding the record marking work previously carried out in Moca, Inapa clarified that these were part of the technical and topographic surveys necessary to locate, register and preliminarily diagnose the existing networks.

This information made it possible to build a technical and digital base of the system, essential for developing the designs, planning the interventions and preparing the contracting documents for the works.

Currently, the main works contracting and project supervision processes are underway.

In the case of the Moca conventional sanitary sewer collection network works and the rehabilitation of the Las Colinas WWTP, the process was formally launched on February 5, 2026 and offers were received on May 19, 2026. The process is currently in the technical evaluation stage.

Likewise, the processes corresponding to the works on collection networks and the new WWTP in Gaspar Hernández are advancing, as well as the technical supervision of the interventions planned in Moca and Gaspar Hernández.

These processes are developed in accordance with the stages of receipt of offers, technical evaluation, preparation for award and contracting established for projects financed by the World Bank.

Regarding financial resources, Inapa specified that these are disbursed gradually, as the processes, contracts and eligible payments established under World Bank regulations progress.

At the end of June 2026, the project records accumulated disbursements of approximately USD 13.1 million and a cumulative financial execution of approximately USD 8.16 million. Resources are maintained available for the works, supervisions, goods, consultancies and activities planned within the project.

As part of the control and accountability mechanisms, the external financial audit of the project was recently completed, carried out by an independent firm, the results of which reflect favorable financial management and compliance with the corresponding procedures.

The report will be released soon through institutional channels.

Regarding the execution period, although the original period of the project corresponded to the 2022-2026 cycle, the financing was extended until May 2028 through a formal process coordinated with the corresponding entities of the Dominican State and the World Bank.

This extension responds to the need to guarantee the adequate contracting, execution and closure of the main planned interventions.

Inapa understands and values ​​the population's interest in monitoring the execution of these works, as well as the legitimate expectation of seeing physical progress in the territory.

At the same time, it is important to highlight that the execution of operations financed by multilateral organizations is developed under policies, processes, procedures, challenges, due diligence, evaluation of bidders and validation of proposals specific to the specific project, and all this determines the possible pace of progress, always within the framework of transparency and institutional openness that characterizes Inapa.

Precisely for this reason, the institution is accelerating the final phase of contracting the main interventions, ensuring that each process meets the technical, environmental, social, fiduciary and transparency requirements demanded by the financing agency.

The current programming foresees that, once the corresponding evaluation, award, contracting and mobilization processes have been completed, the main works can begin progressively towards the end of 2026.

Likewise, during the month of July, a World Bank monitoring mission is planned, which will include technical meetings and field visits with the Inapa, Coraamoca teams and other actors linked to the project.

Within this framework, updated information will be shared on the progress, next steps and main milestones of the project.

The ultimate goal is for this investment to translate into functioning sewage networks, rehabilitated treatment plants and new infrastructure that sustainably improve drinking water and sanitation services for Moca, Gaspar Hernández and the Espaillat province.

Inapa reiterates its commitment to transparency and good management, while reaffirming that it will continue working to respond to the basic and historically postponed needs of drinking water and sanitation throughout the national territory.

The institution has delivered hundreds of works throughout the country and has developed program and project management recognized nationally and internationally for its effective, responsible and results-oriented administration, both with national and international cooperation resources.