Santo Domingo.- After the agreement in which the Dominican government agrees to pay an additional US$395.5 million to the Odebrecht-Tecnimont-Estrella consortium for the construction of the Punta Catalina power plant, the facility will end up costing US$2.3 billion, or 20% more.
The work had been contracted for US1.94 billion, an amount that unleashed heated debate.
Amid questions president Danilo Medina named a commission to evaluate the bidding process and in its final report determined that the price was within international standards but recommended not to pay more than what was established because it was a turnkey contract.
Odebrecht as plaintiff
However, Odebrecht submitted the Dominican government to arbitration, demanding an additional 750 million dollars for additional works, a figure that finally ended at US$973.2 million.