9. NSC and AdR Project Development

In May 2010, the Company acquired, through its wholly-owned Netherlands subsidiary, CW-Cooperatief, a 50% interest in NSC, a development stage Mexican company. The Company has since purchased, through the conversion of a loan it made to NSC, sufficient shares to raise its ownership interest in NSC to 99.99%. NSC was formed to pursue a project (the “Project”) that originally encompassed the construction, operation and minority ownership of a 100 million gallon 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. As discussed in paragraphs that follow, during 2015 the scope of the Project was defined by the State of Baja California (the “State”) to consist of a first phase consisting of a 50 million gallon per day plant and a pipeline that connects to the Mexican potable water infrastructure and a second phase consisting of an additional 50 million gallons of production capacity.

Through a series of transactions completed in 2012-2014, NSC purchased 20.1 hectares for approximately $20.6 million on which the proposed Project’s plant would be constructed.

In November 2012, NSC entered into a lease with an effective term of 20-years from the date of full operation of the Project’s desalination plant, with the Comisión Federal de Electricidad for approximately 5,000 square meters of land on which it plans to construct the water intake and discharge works for the plant. The amounts due on this lease are payable in Mexican pesos at an amount that is currently equivalent to approximately $15,000 per month. This lease may be cancelled by NSC should NSC ultimately not proceed with the Project.

In August 2014, the State enacted new legislation to regulate Public-Private Association projects which involve the type of long-term contract between a public-sector authority and a private party that NSC is seeking to complete the Project. Pursuant to this new legislation, in January 2015, NSC submitted an expression of interest for its project to the Secretary of Infrastructure and Urban Development of the State of Baja California (“SIDUE”). SIDUE accepted NSC’s expression of interest and requested that NSC submit a detailed proposal for the Project that complies with requirements of the new legislation. NSC submitted this detailed proposal (the “APP Proposal”) to SIDUE in late March 2015. The new legislation required that such proposal be evaluated by SIDUE and submitted to the Public-Private Association Projects State Committee (the “APP Committee”) for review and authorization. If the Project was authorized the State would be required to conduct a public tender for the Project.

In response to its APP Proposal, in September 2015 NSC received a letter dated June 30, 2015 from the Director General of the Comisión Estatal del Agua de Baja California (“CEA”), the State agency with responsibility for the Project, stating that (i) the Project is in the public interest with high social benefits and is consistent with the objectives of the State development plan; and (ii) that the Project should proceed, and the required public tender should be conducted. In November 2015, the State officially commenced the tender for the Project, the scope of which the State defined as a first phase to be operational in 2019 consisting of a 50 million gallon per day plant and a pipeline that connects to the Mexican potable water infrastructure and a second phase to be operational in 2024 consisting of an additional 50 million gallons per day of production capacity. A consortium comprised of NSC, NuWater S.A.P.I. de C.V. and Degremont S.A. de C.V. (the “Consortium”) 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.

Due to the amount of capital the Project requires, NSC will ultimately need an equity partner or partners for the Project. Consequently, NSC’s tender to the State for the Project was based upon the following: (i) NSC will sell or otherwise transfer the land and other Project assets to a new company (“Newco”) that would build and own the Project; (ii) NSC’s potential partners would provide the majority of the equity for the Project and thereby would own the majority interest in Newco; (iii) NSC would maintain a minority ownership position in Newco; and (iv) Newco would enter into a long-term management and technical services contract for the Project with an entity partially owned by NSC or another Company subsidiary.

In August 2016, NSC and NuWater incorporated Newco under the name Aguas de Rosarito S.A.P.I. de C.V. (“AdR”), a special project company, to complete 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 operations and (ii) AdR would enter into a Management and Technical Services Agreement with NSC effective on the first day that the Project begins commercial operations. As of December 31, 2017, NSC owned 99.6% of AdR.

On August 22, 2016, the Public Private Partnership Agreement for public private partnership number 002/2015, contest number SIDUE-CEA-APP-2015-002 (“APP Contract”), was executed between AdR, CEA, the Government of Baja California represented by the Secretary of Planning and Finance and the Public Utilities Commission of Tijuana (“CESPT”). The APP Contract requires AdR to design, construct, finance and operate a seawater desalination plant (and accompanying aqueducts) 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 potable water system in Tijuana, Baja California; and the second phase with a capacity of 50 million gallons per day and an aqueduct to a second delivery point in Tijuana. The first phase must be operational within 36 months of commencing construction and the second phase must be operational by the end of 2024. The APP Contract further requires AdR to operate and maintain the plant and aqueducts 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 aqueducts will be transferred to CEA. The total Project cost for Phase 1 of the Project is presently estimated at approximately 9.1 billion Mexican pesos.

The APP Contract does not become effective until the following conditions are met:

⋅	the State has established and registered various payment trusts, guaranties and bank credit lines for specific use by the Project;
⋅	the CEA has obtained the rights from the relevant federal authority to take and desalinate seawater and distribute it for municipal use;
⋅	various water purchase and sale agreements between the CEA, the payment trusts and the CESPT have been executed;
⋅	AdR has obtained all of the rights of way required for the aqueduct;
⋅	AdR has obtained permission from the relevant federal authority to discharge the residual water from the Project’s desalination plant; and
⋅	all debt financing agreements necessary to provide the funding to AdR for the first phase of the Project have been executed.

In December 2016, the Congress of the State of Baja California, Mexico passed Decreto #57 which, among other things, ratified and authorized the payment obligations of the corresponding public entities under the APP Contract. During 2017, following consultations between representatives of the State of Baja California and the Ministry of Finance of the Federal Government of Mexico, it was determined that certain amendments to Decreto #57 were required in order to comply with recent changes to the Federal Financial Discipline Law for Federative Entities and Municipalities. In addition, it was necessary to amend Decreto #57 to authorize the inclusion of revenues from the CESPT in the primary payment trust for the Project. These amendments were included in Decreto # 168 which was approved by the Congress of the State of Baja California in December 2017. Following its issuance, two actions were filed in Mexican Courts against Decreto #168. While neither NSC nor AdR has been named as a party in these actions, based upon publicly available information the Company believes (1) one of these actions consists of a challenge filed by certain members of the Congress of State of Baja, California alleging certain elements of Decreto #168 are contrary to the Mexican constitution; and (2) that the other action represents an amparo (i.e. a constitutional appeal) filed by certain members of indigenous groups that alleges Decreto #168 violates certain of the human rights and individual guarantees they are afforded under the Mexican constitution. The Company cannot presently determine what impact, if any, these two actions will have upon the Project.

Both the exchange rate for the Mexico peso relative to the dollar and general macroeconomic conditions in Mexico have varied since the execution of the APP Project. These changes have adversely impacted the estimated construction, operating, and financing costs for the Project. The APP Contract and the APP Law allow for the parties to negotiate (but do not guarantee) modifications to the water tariff in the event of such significant macroeconomic condition changes. On February 10, 2017 AdR submitted proposals to the CEA requesting an increase to the water tariff to compensate for changes in foreign exchange rates, lending rates and certain changes in law which have impacted the Project. If AdR is unable to obtain this requested increase in the water tariff it may be unable to obtain the debt and equity financing required for the Project. The Company is currently unable to say whether or not such water tariff increase will be approved.

In February 2018, AdR executed a subscription agreement (the “Agreement”) for the equity funding required for the Project. The Agreement calls for NSC to retain a minimum of 25% of the equity in AdR. One or more affiliates of Greenfield SPV VII, S.A.P.I. de C.V. (“Greenfield”), a Mexico company managed by an affiliate of a U.S. asset manager, will acquire a minimum of 55% of AdR. The Agreement also provides Suez Medio Ambiente México, S.A. de C.V., (“Suez”) a subsidiary of SUEZ International, S.A.S., with the option to purchase 20% of the equity of AdR. If Suez does not exercise this option, NSC will retain 35% of the equity of AdR and Greenfield will acquire 65% of the equity of AdR. The Agreement will become effective when the additional conditions related to the Project are met, including but not limited to those conditions discussed previously. The aggregate investment to be made by the equity partners in the Project, in the form of equity and subordinated shareholder loans, is presently estimated at approximately 20% of the total cost of Phase 1 of the Project.

In February 2018, our subsidiary Consolidated Water U.S. Holdings acquired the remaining 0.4% of AdR’s equity interest previously held by NuWater.

If AdR is ultimately unable to proceed with the Project, the land NSC has purchased and the right of way deposits may lose their strategic importance derived from their association with the Project and consequently may decline in value. If AdR does not proceed with the Project, NSC may ultimately be unable to sell this land or recoup their right of way deposits for amounts at least equal to its current carrying values of approximately $20.6 million and $947,000, respectively. Any loss on sale of the land, or impairment losses NSC may be required to record as a result of a decrease in the (1) fair value of the land; or (2) value of the rights of way arising from the inability to complete the Project could have a material adverse impact on the Company’s results of operations.

Included in the Company’s results of operations are general and administrative expenses from NSC and AdR, consisting of organizational, legal, accounting, engineering, consulting and other costs relating to Project development activities. Such expenses amounted to approximately $3.0 million, $3.0 million and $2.0 million for the years ended December 31, 2017, 2016 and 2015, respectively. The assets and liabilities of NSC and AdR included in the Company’s consolidated balance sheets amounted to approximately $23.1 million and $173,000, respectively, as of December 31, 2017 and approximately $22.3 million and $221,000 respectively, as of December 31, 2016.

EWG Litigation

Immediately following CW-Cooperatief’s acquisition of its initial 50% ownership in NSC, the remaining 50% ownership interest in NSC was held by an unrelated company, Norte Sur Agua, S. de R.L. de C.V. (“NSA”). NSA subsequently transferred ownership of half of its shares in NSC to EWG Water LLC (“EWG”) and the other half of its shares in NSC to Alejandro de la Vega (the “individual shareholder”). In February 2012, the Company paid $300,000 to enter into an agreement (the “Option Agreement”) that provided it with an option, exercisable through February 7, 2014, to purchase the shares of NSC owned by the individual shareholder for a price of $1.0 million along with an immediate power of attorney to vote those shares. Such shares constituted 25% of the ownership of NSC as of February 2012. In May 2013, NSC repaid a $5.7 million loan payable to CW-Cooperatief by issuing additional shares of its stock. As a result of this share issuance to CW-Cooperatief, the Company acquired 99.99% of the ownership of NSC. The Option Agreement contained an anti-dilution provision that required the Company to issue new shares in NSC of an amount sufficient to maintain the individual shareholder’s 25% ownership interest in NSC if (i) any new shares of NSC were issued subsequent to the execution of the Option Agreement; and (ii) the Company did not exercise its share purchase option by February 7, 2014. The Company exercised its option and paid the $1.0 million to the individual shareholder to purchase the Option Agreement shares in February 2014.

In October 2015, the Company learned that EWG filed a lawsuit against the individual shareholder, NSC, NSA, CW-Cooperatief, Ricardo del Monte Nunez, Carlos Eduardo Ahumada Arruit, Luis de Angitia Becerra, and the Public Registry of Commerce of Tijuana, Baja California in the Civil Court located in Tecate, Baja California, Mexico.

In this lawsuit, EWG challenged, among other things, the capital investment transactions that increased the Company’s ownership interest in NSC to 99.99%. EWG requested that the court, as a preliminary matter: (a) suspend the effectiveness of the challenged transactions; (b) order public officials in Mexico to record the pendency of the lawsuit in the public records; and (c) appoint an inspector for NSA and NSC to oversee its commercial activities. The court granted, ex-parte, the preliminary relief sought by EWG, which resulted in the placement of inscriptions for the lawsuit on NSC’s public records.

EWG also sought an order directing, among other things: (i) NSA, NSC and CW-Cooperatief to refrain from carrying out any transactions with respect to the Project; and (ii) NSA, NSC and CW-Cooperatief, and the partners thereof, to refrain from transferring any interests in NSA, NSC and CW-Cooperatief.

On April 5, 2016, NSC filed a motion for reconsideration with the Tecate, Mexico court asking, among other things, that the court; (i) reverse its order to record the pendency of the lawsuit in the public records; (ii) cancel the appointment of the inspector; and (iii) allow NSC to provide a counter-guarantee to suspend the effects of the court’s order regarding the challenged transactions. On April 26, 2016, the Tecate, Mexico court issued an interlocutory judgment (i) ordering the cancellation of the inscriptions on NSC’s public records; and (ii) rejecting NSC’s motion for cancellation of the appointment of the inspector.

On April 26, 2016, NSC filed a full answer to EWG’s claims rejecting every claim made by EWG. The court’s response on this matter is pending.

On May 17, 2016, NSC filed a claim with the Third District Court in Matters of Amparo and Federal Trials in the City of Tijuana, Baja California (the “Amparo Court”) challenging the Tecate, Mexico court ex-parte order which appointed an inspector over NSC’s commercial activities. On July 29, 2016, the Amparo Court found that such appointment is unconstitutional and reversed the Tecate, Mexico court’s appointment of an inspector.

On September 6, 2016, the Tecate, Mexico court issued a decree granting the counter-guaranty requested by NSC. Such counter-guaranty was fixed in the amount of 300,000 Mexican pesos and was given to the court on October 13, 2016 at which time all remaining ex-parte restrictions on NSC related to the challenged transactions were suspended.

On May 2, 2017, the Tecate, Mexico court declared that the initial filing of this lawsuit had expired due to EWG’s lack of activity with respect to certain actions required to proceed to trial. However, EWG can appeal the expiration or refile the lawsuit.