Your preconceptions about Colombia could be 20 years out of date. Now is the time to visit before the country is inundated by tourists. i2O has a number of clients in the country and is hoping to bring the benefits that those clients have achieved to other cities. Our CEO and Latin America sales team spent last week visiting the country.
Here is the team visiting i2O client Acueductos de Bogota in Bogotá.
Bogotá is a city of 7.8m people, not far short of London’s 8.2m
The United Kingdom’s second city is Birmingham with a population of 1.1m.Colombia has two cities twice that size: Cali, served by EMCALI and Medellín which is served by EPM – a diverse group of companies covering electricity, gas, water and telecommunications. EPM occupies an architecturally striking building
in a city with a spectacular setting surrounded by mountains.
Next in size is Barranquilla with 1.1m people, which is served by i2O’s client Triple A. The city is gearing up for its annual carnival which rivals Rio’s. Here we are having lunch with their team.
Cartagena would be the UK’s 3rd city with a population of 900,000. It is served by Acuacar, which is part-owned by Agbar, which in turn is owned by Suez. Acuacar is also an i2O client. The old city features colonial architecture.
The Caribbean coast offers sun, sea and sand.
Last but not least in an eventful week, Cúcuta with 600,000 people sits on the border with Venezuela. It is having to deal with the additional challenges of a neighbour with a struggling economy. Aguas Kapital’s management team turned out in force to discuss the benefits they have achieved by using i2O solutions which includes an 18% burst reduction.
Colombia is a country that is flourishing. Rapid population growth in the urban centres is evident from the vast amount of new buildings and the number of construction sites. Illegal connections and unmetered supply create one set of issues; real losses another. Ageing water network infrastructure is having huge demands placed on it. i2O’s solutions are ideal for monitoring the network and improving pressure management and maintenance. They provide cost effective alternatives to building new supply or investing heavily in network infrastructure.