Deputy wants Odebrecht coal plant contract nixed now

Santo Domingo.- After rejecting the government’s US$600 million bond issue to finance the Punta Catalina coal-fired plants, deputy Fidelio Despradel said the contract with Brazil contractor Odebrecht should be canceled at once, "for failing to meet its financing commitments."

He said in addition to the alleged ballooned cost of more than US$1 billion, the Brazilian multinational’s turnkey contract requires it to seek its own financing in case of unforeseen events.

Te minority party lawmaker said Odebrecht has yet to comply with its commitments, "because the high level of pollution generated by coal energy has prevented access to soft financing such as those available in the World Bank and the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB)."

To deal with the situation, the deputy for Alianza País proposes an immediate audit by the Accounts Chamber on the Punta Catalina project, and for the authorities to subsequently call for tenders to convert the plants to natural gas and conclude the work.