Argentina restarts construction of the Santa Cruz Dam complex in south

The Economy Ministry reported that the government of Argentina and the state energy corporation?ENARSA had agreed to'restart construction' of the Santa Cruz Hydroelectric Dam?complex located in the southeastern part of the country. This agreement was reached after resolving longstanding disputes with contractors.

In a recent statement, the Ministry of Environment said that the Jorge Cepernic Dam, the smaller structure, which is 46% complete, was the first priority to'restart.

* According to the government of libertarian Javier Milei, Cepernic can be?finished in 2030 and will add 1,860 GWh Argentine's national grid.

Luis Caputo, Minister of Economy and Finance, welcomed the agreement?on X?on Thursday. He said that Argentina continues to normalize its energy sector.

It is estimated that an additional investment of $5 billion will be required to finish both dams.

* The dams were initially due by 2023 but the project stalled in 2016 as the contract was not completed and there were no price redeterminations.

* A contractor accumulated claims of more than $700 million over the course of years.

CONTEXT

The government approved the construction of?two Chinese-financed dams? in 2017, after they were awarded in 2013.

* The government of former President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner assigned the projects to the China Gezhouba?Corp. and the local group,?Electroingenieria.

* To date, approximately $1.8 billion has been spent on both dams. Reporting by Aida Peaez-Fernandez

(source: Reuters)