Gustavo Saltiel named Water & Sanitation Strategic Adviser at World Bank's Water Global PracticeGustavo Saltiel has been appointed as Strategic ...
Published on by Water Network Research, Official research team of The Water Network
Gustavo Saltiel has been appointed as Strategic Adviser on Water Supply and Sanitation with the Water Global Practice (Water GP) at the World Bank. In this capacity, Saltiel will contribute to advancing global water security, promoting climate adaptation, and supporting the World Bank’s efforts to achieve universal access to Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH). Commenting on his new role, he said: "I’m grateful to the Water GP, Saroj Kumar Jha, Yogita Mumssen, and Yitbarek Tessema for this opportunity and look forward to supporting the World Bank’s efforts to fast-track global water security, climate adaptation, and universal access to WASH."
Saltiel’s career in the water and sanitation sector spans more than four decades, beginning in the late 1980s when he worked as a sanitary engineer for Argentina’s National Rural Water Service Agency. His early focus was on implementing sustainable water and sanitation systems in rural communities through cooperatives. This experience laid the foundation for his later work in Latin America, where he played a key role in supporting the restructuring of provincial utilities and designing public-private partnerships (PPPs) for water supply and sanitation in Argentina and other countries in the region.
In the 1990s, as the region faced fiscal constraints and the underperformance of state-owned enterprises, Saltiel was involved in efficiency improvement projects and led regulatory efforts for Buenos Aires’ Regulatory Agency (ETOSS). During this time, he spearheaded the first periodic tariff review for the private concessionaire Aguas Argentinas, validating the concession model’s robustness. He also managed large-scale environmental projects, such as overseeing the cleanup of the Reconquista River Basin in Buenos Aires.