Executive Summary
Water sanitation is important to ensure that individuals enjoy better livelihoods through controlled spread of diseases and to ensure survival of other living animals. Water directly drawn from rivers, lakes and other sources may not be safe for use in the household for example drinking because it contains impurities both in dissolved and non-dissolved form. This water requires purification to recommended standards.
Fresh Water System is a company that will involve itself in the purification of drinking water for the society in El Salvador cities. The company is a profit-making establishment that seeks to work with other stakeholders to ensure that the citizens of El Salvador have access to clean drinking water, so as to control the related waterborne diseases and subsequently reduce the related deaths. The establishment is set to benefit the country through increasing the numbers of people who get assess to safe drinking water across the country. In addition, the operations of the company will require specialized and non-specialized staff and therefore the citizens will benefit from employment-both skilled and non-skilled.
El Salvador is a country where not all the populations enjoy assess to safe drinking water. According to reports by WaterPartners International the 12-year civil war in El Salvador had negative effects to water sources through the impact of the militia men. More over, the war had worse effects on the poor communities in the countries. On return, members of the communities in the country could not find resources to reconstruct the water point and the sources of water for them turned to be rivers, ponds, streams and hand-dug well. This unsafe water has been linked to high rates of diarrhea diseases in the poor communities. The solution to these problems will be the establishments to ensure that these communities have access to pure and safe drinking water.
Country Information, Business and other issues
Other problems that were cited by people who demonstrated during the celebrations to mark the World Water Day in March 22, 2007 in addition to water contamination were unjust water distribution, high cost of water and environmental destruction. The demonstrators emanated from social organizations, unions and other organized communities (WaterPartners International, 2009).
El Salvador, which experiences frequent earthquakes which are sometimes destructive, is faced with soil erosion and water pollution problems. Fresh Water Systems can help solve water pollution problems.
The country is a member of World Trade Organization and therefore enjoys from the free trade agreements and all goods and services from the U.S. market are offered an open market. Remittances from the Salvadorans who live in the United States together with the increase in income fuel consumer demands. The country enjoys low inflation, foreign exchange from the aforementioned remittances and macroeconomic stability.
Foreign establishments from the United States have complained of being victims of unfair treatment because they are blamed for slow deterioration in the business climate in El Salvador. Problems have been cited with delay and lack of sanctity on governmental contracts. The existing contracts have also been said to be amended by duress. Contracting business will be of importance to Fresh Water Systems in carrying out the operations of provision of purified water to governmental and private establishments, as well as the society in general.
Dispute resolution is also an area not well dealt with in the country because companies have reported experience of long delays in arbitration cases and government pressure to give up arbitration rights in governmental contracts before and after signing. Companies entering the El Salvador market need to identify strategies such as possible partners who are well established local players in the industry they seek to venture in. this will reduce the possibility of discrimination in the business environment.
Among other issues reported as facing businesses include increased customs and non-tariff barriers which included inconsistency in decisions and customs valuation. Growth has been prospected in areas such as Food Processing and Packaging Equipment and Travel and Tourism where Fresh Water System would benefit by providing their services and products. The country had a $461 million investment in enterprise development, public service among others and this could aid the expansion and development of Fresh Water System. Fresh Water Systems might require hiring a lawyer as recommended so as to make sure that the processes of establishing an office in El Salvador are completed and aspects of Free Trade Zone Law regime, immigration, and labor related issues are also sorted out with assistance from National Investment Office.
Accounting information which is prepared in Spanish will be required to be approved by a certified public accountant. The companies are also required to furnish the Registry of Commerce Office with the names of the company’s board of directors and administrative personnel. The company will also need registration with General Director of Statistics and Census and the National Industrial and Commercial Establishment Directory. Publication of the license in a local newspaper is also a requirement once the license has been issued by the Registry of Commerce Office. The company would also require an environmental permit (El Salvador Country Commercial Guide 2009).
Company Information
Fresh Water System is a company which will involve itself with water purification in Salvador. This water will be used for drinking by the people in the rural areas or for selective companies and tourist establishments which will require fresh drinking water or water for production or processing of edible products. The water will be distributed for a fee which will be decided on the account of the current market conditions. The families and companies requiring these services and products will be required to register once the establishments have been located to the various rural homes. Expansion for the amount of water to be processed will be arranged depending on the number of beneficiaries joining.
Water purification does not only ensure that families assess clean drinking water, but that cleaner and better water for laundry and animal use is available. Sometimes water exposed to animal and human waste may contain toxic substances, be highly acidic and harmful to plants and animals. Even where ground water has met standards for drinking without purification, continued contamination of surface water may also affect this water over time. Soluble elements and substances some of which are harmful may percolate down to the earth and meet ground water.
The company will utilize simple and the more complex modern methods of water purification in the industry. The company will use expertise in the industry to determine both the best methods applicable for the case of El Salvador and how to maximally benefit from these methods of water purification (Davidson College, n.d.). Among the technologies to be employed for purification purposes will include WaterFresh Purification technology by the EcoAsia company which, in addition to disinfecting highly turbid water, can remove human or environmental health risk.
The system which can operate in extreme environments of temperature utilizes a Cell Destruction Unit (CDU) and combination of filters. A single unit can process 80, 000 to 250,000 liters of water per day, and therefore the company will install the required units according to the needs in a particular location. This technology is suitable because different units can be located at various places within the rural areas in El Salvador and can be replaced in cases of emergencies such as earthquakes (ecoasia, WaterFresh Group, n.d.).
The technology which will have some advantages over the common methods of purification and the company may have some competitive advantages over companies utilizing simpler methods. However, one of the weaknesses is that the company will be new and will require time to popularize its services and products among the locals and companies in the country. The company will also utilize the normal techniques such as those using chemicals like aluminum and chlorine for water purification purposes so as to reduce cost where necessary.
Entry Strategy
The company’s major objective is to provide and distribute purified drinking water to the rural people and ensure that the poor have increased assess to adequate and safer drinking water. Rural areas scored poorly for safe water coverage (51.98%) during 2006 as compared to the urban areas (86.94%), whereas total access to improved water sources at the same time was 47.61% against 89.74%. the company will have to weigh and analyze the possibility of disruption of the establishments to be set up, by the national emergencies such as earthquakes, and consider building stable establishments for supply and distribution of water.
Solid wastes disposal and inadequate excreta disposal have been identified as significantly affecting water resources and sources of bacteriological contaminants of water. These contaminations lead to gastrointestinal diseases which are among the 10 leading causes of morbidity in the country (Health System Profile of El Salvador 2000-2005). The company will target the rural areas with worse problem of water contamination and reported cases of diarrhea diseases linked to unsafe drinking water.
The company will set up water purification outlets in the various rural areas identified while taking advantage of the existing water sources such as rivers, dams, and hand-dug holes that the community is utilizing. The establishments will also make sure that this treated water is distributed to the locals through pipes and taps and the locals will have to pay fee for the distribution and purification of this water. The company will also target the companies located in the rural and urban centers to avail to them clean water for industrial use in sensitive operations such as food and tourism.
Industries are a major pollutant to the water systems and although rules and regulations on discharge of industrial wastes exist for new industries but there is lack of enforcement according to report prepared by a team from the US Army Corps of Engineers Mobile District and the U.S. Army Topographic Engineering Center (1998). The team reports ground water as the major source of portable water for domestic use owing to pollution of surface water with wastes both from industrial and domestic activities.
The company will need to liaise and work with other industrial players such as ANDA (National Administration on Aqueducts and Sewerage) authorities which oversee development and maintaining of water systems for both urban and rural areas, and the Fondo de Inversion Social de El Salvador (FIS) which participates in the supply of expertise and materials for construction of surface and ground water systems. In addition, the company will take advantage to liaise and link with the MSPAS (Ministry of Public Health and Social Assistance) who are responsible for operating and maintaining the rural water systems to ensure communities have access to continually upgraded systems through quality maintenance practices of existing channels of distribution.
Surface water sources such as rivers which are exposed to contamination from domestic and industrial effluents will be a major target by Fresh Water Systems. The company will employ the necessary technology to purify this water to the established consumption standards before distribution. Where other sources like ground water are involved, the company will source the equipments to draw water into its purification system and then distribute the water to the usage destination.
References
Davidson College. Chemistry 107: Introduction to Environmental Chemistry: Water purification. Web.
El Salvador Country Commercial Guide. (2009). Doing business in El Salvador: A country commercial guide for U.S. companies. Web.
Ecoasia, WaterFresh Group. WaterFresh Water Purification Technology. Web.
Health system profile of El Salvador 2000-2005: Monitoring and analyzing health systems change. (2007). Web.
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Mobile District and the U.S. Army Topographic Engineering Center. (1998). Water resources assessment of El Salvador. Web.
WaterPartners International. (2009). El Salvador. Web.