Established in December 2006 and based in Montevideo, UNOPS in Uruguay provides project management, fund supervision and procurement services, currently focusing on the areas of public works, health and education.
The following are examples of UNOPS in Uruguay's support to clients in some key sectors:
Education
The Proyecto Apoyo al Ministerio de Desarrollo Social (Project for the Support of the Ministry of Social Development), jointly signed by the Government of Uruguay and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), addresses universal primary education, targeted by United Nations Millennium Development Goal 2. Towards that goal the ministry is constructing and equipping classrooms for four-year-olds living in poor or isolated areas, with financial support from the Governments of Uruguay and Venezuela.
With expertise in managing complex physical infrastructure projects, UNOPS in Uruguay has provided transparent, independent project supervision. UNOPS in Uruguay visits schools and verifies achievement of technical milestones that enable disbursements of project funds.
Uruguay’s national Office for Social Welfare has also requested UNOPS in Uruguay to support improvement of buildings to accommodate training and conference facilities. In this effort UNOPS in Uruguay will be executing funds on behalf of the Governments of Norway, Spain and Uruguay.
Public works
Rapidly changing telecommunications technology brings opportunities and challenges to Uruguay’s National Administration for Telecommunications (ANTEL) and requires swift and effective responses. Because UNOPS in Uruguay can procure goods and services significantly faster than alternative sources and UNOPS in Uruguay can contract and implement highly complex IT solutions, ANTEL asked UNOPS in Uruguay to help implement a comprehensive new billing system – the first of its kind in Latin America.
On behalf of ANTEL, UNOPS in Uruguay is organizing bidding exercises, preparing contracts and overseeing implementation. The new system is expected to improve services significantly and benefit the environment by sharply reducing paper usage.
Health
In 2007 the regional government of Canelones hired UNOPS in Uruguay to support its Organic Waste Treatment Project, which gathers and processes waste and thereby improves living conditions and helps combat disease. UNOPS in Uruguay is procuring the equipment necessary for project delivery, including tractors, waste mills, waste transportation vehicles and fire prevention gear.