5 days ago
- Business
- Business News Wales
Welsh Green Tech Firm Secures Long Term Contracts in South America
A West Wales green tech company has secured three major projects in the Republic of Ecuador.
Llangennech-based water technology company Hydro Industries was assisted by the outgoing British Ambassador to Ecuador, Chris Campbell and his team.
The schemes collectively represent the largest transaction carried out by a British company in Ecuador. The projects are spread over three municipalities and will see the clean up of contaminated wastewater or the provision of safe, clean drinking water.
Hydro has signed a contract with EMGIRS, a public company that manages solid waste for the Metropolitan District of Quito, to treat landfill leachate.
In 2024, driven by the Mayor of Quito, Pabel Muñoz López, Hydro installed a leachate treatment plant to prevent toxic waste entering the Inga River. Since then, under a contract to design, build and operate the treatment plant, Hydro has produced a total of 208 million litres of clean water.
Under the new contract, Hydro is working with the General Manager of EMGIRS, Santiago Andrada Piedra, and his team, to increase the recovery of clean water at the El Inga treatment plant with the aim of both preserving the delicate ecosystem of the Inga River basin and the creation of additional clean water that can be used to the benefit of the citizens of Quito. This project will see Hydro making further investments in the region that provide technology upgrades to meet EMGIRS targets.
Hydro has also signed a confidentiality agreement with the Municipality of Manta to immediately begin the process to establish a long term public-private partnership to deliver its water treatment technologies to meet the needs of the region. The legal process has already began, and building work will be expected to start in the in the City of Manta in the second quarter of 2026.
Hydro said the partnership reflects the shared commitment of both parties to address critical water challenges in a sustainable, efficient, and socially responsible manner.
The announcement reflects the conclusion of a process to increase the availability of safe, clean drinking water to citizens of Manta, the firm said. The plan envisages the phased roll out of water treatment technologies at strategic locations across the Manta Municipality.
Hydro has been instructed by the Mayor of Rocafuerte to enter into a 10-year strategic partnership to provide drinking water to the citizens of Rocafuerte and clean water to its industrial and agricultural sectors.
The legal process will start immediately to ensure that Hydro can deploy its water treatment plants across Rocafuerte as efficiently and swiftly as possible. This initial contract is valued at more than $75 million. Both the Mayor and Hydro Industries are committed to prioritising the use of the local workforce wherever possible to deliver state-of-the-art treatment facilities and the pipeline infrastructure required to serve the region.
The Mayor of Quito, Pabel Muñoz López, said:
'The protection of the environment and the provision of safe, clean drinking water to our people is a mission that drives us. It touches all of us, from young to old, from rich to poor. It is our responsibility and our legacy.'
Wayne Preece, Chief Executive of Hydro Industries, said:
'Hydro is a water technology company based in the United Kingdom, but with global ambitions. In Ecuador we have found, through the leadership of the Mayor of Quito, and other regional Mayors, an ambition that matches our own. We will work together, at pace, to create a cleaner and safer Ecaudor, one drop at a time.'
British Ambassador to Ecuador, Chris Campbell, said:
'I have been proud to serve my country as its Ambassador to Ecuador. It is now time for me to move on – and make way for Libby Green – who will now take up the torch. I hope, in my time here in Ecuador, that I have done some good. I am delighted that my final announcement is to highlight ever increasing ties between Great Britain and Ecuador – ties that will result in better health and a cleaner environment for generations to come.'
