More doubts cast over power plant of scandal

Santo Domingo.- After years of delays and many scandals due to corruption allegations, units one and two of the Punta Catalina Power Plant came into operation, accompanied by a growing heap of ash next to them, which questions the official promise that the work would generate green bonds.

Then Environment Minister, Francisco Domínguez, on July 3, 2017 said: “The Dominican Republic with the entry of Punta Catalina will probably have green bonds.”

It’s a story agitated by allegations of corruption, and marked by conflicts between the Dominican Government and the construction company, Odebrecht which reached a settlement in March.

The agreement meant for the country an additional payment of US$395.5 million, to leave behind the lawsuit in an international arbitration court.

And at present, the two units of the Punta Catalina Power Plant are in operation. According to the reports of the Coordinating Body, as of June 30 of this year, both unit one and unit two were operating, each with a generation of 365 MW. A total of 730 MW.

However, apparently, due to the way in which the Punta Catalina Power Plant operations began, the predetermined stages to guarantee its correct operation were not rigorously followed, according to a report by the consulting firm Serafín Canario y Asociados SRL.

Meanwhile, at Punta Cana Airport, the country’s busiest, the outlook changed in recent days compared to what was expected a month ago, with flights arriving from San Juan, New York and Fort Lauderdale.