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Discontinued operations - Mexico project development | 9 Months Ended
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Sep. 30, 2023
Discontinued operations - Mexico project development |
Discontinued operations | 5. Discontinued operations - Mexico project development ​ In 2010, the Company began the pursuit, through its Netherlands subsidiary, Consolidated Water Cooperatief, U.A. (“CW-Cooperatief”), and its Mexico subsidiary, N.S.C. Agua, S.A. de C.V. (“NSC”), of a project (the “Project”) that encompassed the construction, operation and minority ownership of a 100 million gallons per day seawater reverse osmosis desalination plant to be located in northern Baja California, Mexico and accompanying pipelines to deliver water to the Mexican potable water system. ​ Through a series of transactions that began in 2012, NSC purchased 20.1 hectares of land for approximately $21.1 million on which the proposed Project’s plant was to be constructed. ​ Following an assessment by the State of Baja, California (the “State”) of the need for such a desalination plant and the passage of enabling legislation in November 2015, the State officially commenced the required public tender for the Project. A consortium (the “Consortium”) comprised of NSC, Suez Medio Ambiente México, S.A. de C.V. (“Suez MA”), a subsidiary of SUEZ International, S.A.S., and NuWater S.A.P.I. de C.V. (“NuWater”) submitted its tender for the Project in April 2016 and in June 2016, the State designated the Consortium as the winner of the tender process for the Project. ​ In August 2016, NSC and NuWater incorporated a new company under the name Aguas de Rosarito S.A.P.I. de C.V. (“AdR”) to pursue completion of the Project and executed a shareholders agreement for AdR agreeing among other things that (i) AdR would purchase the land and other Project assets from NSC on the date that the Project begins commercial operation and (ii) AdR would enter into a Management and Technical Services Agreement with NSC effective on the first day that the Project begins commercial operation. NSC initially owned 99.6% of the equity of AdR. In February 2018, CW-Holdings acquired the remaining 0.4% ownership in AdR from NuWater. ​ On August 22, 2016, the Public Private Partnership Agreement for the Project (the “APP Contract”) was executed between AdR, the State Water Commission of Baja, California (“CEA”), and the Government of Baja California, as represented by the Secretary of Planning and Finance and the Public Utilities Commission of Tijuana (“CESPT”). The APP Contract required AdR to design, construct, finance and operate a seawater reverse osmosis desalination plant (and accompanying aqueduct) with a capacity of up to 100 million gallons per day in two phases: the first with a capacity of 50 million gallons per day and an aqueduct to the Mexican public water system in Tijuana, Baja California and the second phase with a capacity of 50 million gallons per day. The first phase was to be operational within 36 months of commencing construction and the second phase was to be operational by January 2025. The APP Contract further required AdR to operate and maintain the plant and aqueduct for a period of 37 years starting from the commencement of operation of the first phase. At the end of the operating period, the plant and aqueduct would have been transferred to CEA. The APP Contract was subsequently amended by the parties in June 2018 to increase the scope of Phase 1 and to allow for changes in the water tariff due to the changes in the exchange rate for the peso, interest rates and construction costs that had and would occur from the date the APP Contract was signed to the date construction commenced. ​ On June 29, 2020, AdR received a letter (the “Letter”) from the Director General of CEA and the Director General of CESPT terminating the APP Contract. The Letter requested that AdR provide an inventory of the assets that currently comprise the “Project Works” (as defined in the APP Contract) for the purpose of acknowledging and paying the non-recoverable expenses made by AdR in connection with the Project, with such reimbursement to be calculated in accordance with the terms of the APP Contract. The applicable law required that this list of non-recoverable expenses made by AdR in connection with the Project be submitted to CEA and CESPT within 20 business days from the date of receipt of the Letter. AdR initiated an amparo claim before a federal district court in Tijuana, Baja California, to challenge the provision of the applicable law requiring submittal of the list of non-recoverable expenses within the 20 business days term, as AdR considered such term to be unreasonably short due to the magnitude of the Project and the scope of supporting documentation required to be provided with respect to the non-recoverable expenses. AdR obtained an initial provisional suspension of the lapsing of such 20-day term from the court, and on August 10, 2020 the court made such suspension definitive until the completion of the amparo trial. As such, the 20-day term for filing the list of non-recoverable expenses was suspended. Therefore, on August 28, 2020, AdR submitted their list of non-recoverable expenses, including those of NSC, to CEA and CESPT which was comprised of 51,144,525 United States dollars and an additional 137,333,114 Mexican pesos. In February 2021, AdR withdrew this amparo claim, and such withdrawal was accepted by the federal district court in Tijuana. To date, AdR has not received a formal response from CEA or CESPT to its submission of non-recoverable expenses. ​ The Company believes CW-Cooperatief, as a Netherlands company, has certain rights relating to its investments in NSC and AdR under the Agreement on Promotion, Encouragement and Reciprocal Protection of Investments between the Kingdom of the Netherlands and the United Mexican States entered into force as of October 1, 1999 (the “Treaty”). On April 16, 2021, CW-Cooperatief submitted a letter to the President of Mexico and other Mexican federal government officials alleging that the State’s termination of the APP Contract constituted a breach by Mexico of its international obligations under the Treaty, entitling CW-Cooperatief to full reparation, including monetary damages. This letter invited Mexico to seek a resolution of this investment dispute through consultation and negotiation, but stated that if the dispute cannot be resolved in this manner, CW-Cooperatief would refer the dispute to the International Centre for the Settlement of International Disputes for arbitration, as provided for in the Treaty. On June 29, 2021, the Mexican Ministry of Economy responded to CW-Cooperatief’s letter and proposed to hold a consultation meeting. Two such meetings were held on July 9, 2021 and August 2, 2021 on a confidential basis, without a resolution of the Company’s investment dispute. ​ ​On February 9, 2022, CW-Cooperatief, filed a Request for Arbitration with the International Centre for Settlement of International Disputes requesting that the United Mexican States pay CW-Cooperatief damages in excess of US$51 million plus MXN$137 million (with the exact amount to be quantified in the proceedings), plus fees, costs and pre- and post-award interest. CW-Cooperatief intends to pursue vigorously the relief sought in the arbitration, in addition to pursuing all other legal remedies and courses of action available under the operative contracts and applicable law with respect to their rights, damages, fees and expenses. The Company cannot provide any assurances that CW-Cooperatief will be able to obtain the relief sought in the arbitration, and the Company has incurred and will continue to incur legal and other arbitration-related expenses that are material to its consolidated results of operations and cash flows. During July 2022, the State initiated discussions with the Company to potentially resolve the issues related to the cancellation by the government of the Rosarito desalination plant contract as well as potentially addressing the State’s acute water shortage issues. The Company cannot presently determine the outcome of the discussions and the Company has not terminated its efforts to obtain relief through the international arbitration process as a result of these discussions. ​ The Company cannot provide any assurances that it will be able to obtain reimbursement for any expenses or investments made with respect to the Project. ​ As a result of the cancellation of the APP Contract, in 2020 the Company discontinued all development activities associated with the Project and commenced active marketing efforts to sell the land NSC purchased for the Project. Accordingly, the assets and liabilities of CW-Cooperatief, NSC and AdR, as well as the costs for legal and administrative activities to pursue reimbursement from the State of Baja California following the cancellation of the APP Contract, have been classified as discontinued operations in the accompanying condensed consolidated financial statements. ​ Summarized financial information for the discontinued Mexico project development operation is as follows:
​ | ​ | ​ | ​ | ​ | ​ | ​
​ | ​ | ​ | September 30, | ​ | ​ | December 31,
​ | ​ | ​ | 2023 | ​ | ​ | 2022
​ |  | ​ | ​ | ​ | ​
Cash |  | $ | 189,613 |  | $ | 442,252
Accounts receivable | ​ | ​ | 12,675 | ​ | ​ | 12,675
Prepaid expenses and other current assets | ​ | ​ | 96,303 | ​ | ​ | 76,553
Land | ​ |  | 21,126,898 | ​ |  | 21,126,898
Other assets | ​ |  | 2,390 | ​ |  | 2,390
Total assets of discontinued operations | ​ | $ | 21,427,879 | ​ | $ | 21,660,768
​ | ​ |  |  | ​ |  |
Total liabilities of discontinued operations | ​ | $ | 259,853 | ​ | $ | 389,884
​
​ | ​ | ​ | ​ | ​ | ​ | ​ | ​ | ​ | ​ | ​ | ​ | ​
​ | ​ | Three Months Ended September 30, | ​ | Nine Months Ended September 30,
​ |  | 2023 |  | 2022 | ​ | 2023 |  | 2022
Revenue |  | $ | — |  | $ | — |  | $ | — |  | $ | —
Loss from discontinued operations | ​ | $ | 232,994 | ​ | $ | 505,917 | ​ | $ | 699,858 | ​ | $ | 1,533,064
Depreciation expense | ​ | $ | — | ​ | $ | — | ​ | $ | — | ​ | $ | —
​ ​ ​ Mexico Project litigation
a) | EWG request of precautionary measures
In January 2018, EWG Water LLC (“EWG”) initiated an ordinary mercantile claim against, among others, NSC, and CW-Cooperatief (with AdR being named as a third party to be called to trial) before the Tenth Civil Judge in Tijuana, Baja California for Mercantile Matters (the “Tenth Civil Judge”). ​ In such claim, EWG challenged, among other things, the transactions contemplated under a certain option agreement (entered into in 2012), and therefore, the capital investment transactions occurring in May 2013 that increased the ownership interest of CW-Cooperatief in NSC to 99.99%. On October 1, 2020, and following an order from a Federal Judge obtained by NSC, the Tenth Civil Judge resolved to (i) move the claim of EWG to arbitration, and (ii) suspend the corresponding ordinary mercantile procedure. Within the above-mentioned claim, the Tenth Civil Judge granted EWG certain preliminary measures against NSC, which were later overturned by an Upper Court. ​ In July 2023, EWG filed a motion before a local court in Playas de Rosarito, Baja California (the “Rosarito Court”) to obtain precautionary measures consisting of the securing of assets owned by NSC (particularly real estate), as a procedure prior to the commencement of an arbitration that allegedly would be initiated by EWG against NSC to claim the payment of an indemnification for damages derived from a so-called simulation of legal acts. In the opinion of the Rosarito Court, such motion did not require notification to NSC or the presentation of counterarguments by NSC to the motion prior to securing the assets of NSC. ​ On July 28, 2023, the Rosarito Court issued a resolution in which it: (i) granted the precautionary measures requested by EWG, subject to the posting of a bond in the amount of MXN$1,500,000 (One Million Five Hundred Thousand Mexican Pesos), and (ii) ordered that once the precautionary measures were executed, NSC would be summoned to that procedure and EWG would have three business days to prove that it initiated the arbitration. ​ To the Company’s knowledge, EWG has not posted the bond set by the Rosarito Court. Therefore: (i) the precautionary measures have not been enforced, (ii) no securing or attachment has been registered against the real estate of NSC; and (iii) NSC has not been formally summoned to this procedure. ​ Furthermore, NSC is unaware of any arbitration commenced by EWG regarding this matter. ​
b) | NSC amparo lawsuit
On August 16, 2023, NSC filed an amparo suit (i.e., application for constitutional relief) before the Eleventh Federal District Court in Tijuana (“Eleventh Federal Court”) against the precautionary measures granted to EWG by the Rosarito Court. ​ In its amparo suit, NSC also requested the Eleventh Federal Court to grant an order to put on hold said precautionary measures. A preliminary order to stay was granted by the Eleventh Federal Court, followed by a definitive injunction, subject to the posting of a guarantee. NSC has submitted the guarantee to the court. ​ The Company cannot presently determine what impact the resolution of this matter may have on its consolidated financial statements.

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