Santa Marta’s ESSMAR water utility handed back to mayor after five‑year state takeover

Colombia’s Superintendence of Public Services (Superservicios) issued Resolution SSPD‑20261000688975 on 7 August, declaring the “decaimiento” of the administrative act that had kept the Empresa de Servicios Públicos del Distrito de Santa Marta (ESSMAR) under state possession since November 2021. The decision returns operational and administrative control of the water utility to Santa Marta’s mayor, Carlos Pinedo Cuello, and was signed by interim superintendent Hilda María Borja Vega in line with President Gustavo Petro’s directives.

The national government had financed a structural solution to the city’s chronic water shortage, allocating roughly 1.2 trillion Colombian pesos for the design, construction and operation of desalination plants and related infrastructure. While the takeover ends, Superservicios noted that remaining administrative, financial or operational issues can be addressed through its ordinary oversight powers.