Abinader leads second diversion of Guayubín River at Boca de los Ríos Dam

Santiago Rodríguez.- President Luis Abinader led the ceremony marking the second diversion of the Guayubín River, a key milestone in the final phase of construction of the Boca de los Ríos Dam, a project executed by the Dominican Hydroelectric Generation Company (Egehid).

During the event at the dam site, the President authorized the removal of the temporary cofferdam, allowing an excavator to open the channel through which water flowed back toward the riverbed and into the diversion galleries, directing it toward the dam structure.

“This second river diversion is a fundamental milestone in the progress of the project and marks a key transition in the construction sequence,” said José Augusto Caputo, project director.

Egehid’s general manager, Rafael Salazar, recalled that the first river diversion was carried out in March 2023 to enable dry-land construction of the dam’s main body. He explained that with this second diversion, the river will temporarily resume its natural course through the concrete structure via the diversion galleries until the project is completed, at which point the galleries will be sealed and the reservoir filling process will begin.

The river’s return to its course will also allow construction to begin on a lower section of the closure dam adjacent to the main wall. At the same time, the first of three radial spillway gates—each measuring 12 meters wide, 14 meters high, and weighing approximately 110 tons—has begun arriving at the site in preparation for installation.