The construction of the
Chihuidos dam
is marked by setbacks.
It was tendered twice, international financing fell and it was outlined as those works that are talked about a lot, but never come to fruition.
But everything took a turn on Saturday: the German Voith promised to
obtain financing for the initiative, which will require US$2.23 billion.
Voith's president, Toralf Haag, promised to obtain
85% financing for the work.
He did so in an act together with Eduardo Eurnekian, the businessman who heads a consortium of companies for this dam, and Foreign Minister Santiago Cafiero.
It was within the framework of the tour of the German premier, Olaf Scholz, through Argentina and other countries in the region.
The setbacks of this contract lasted until the day the agreement was signed, although in this case it was a domestic accident.
In the hall of the signature -of the Palacio San Martín- some windows were opened.
A breeze pushed a pole that fell on the head of an official, for which reason SAME had to be called.
He joked that next time he would "
bring a helmet"
for similar events, since he had a cut on his face.
A German executive also took a similar memento.
In Chihuidos, located in Neuquén, the German Voith will get 85% of the disbursements, while
the national State will contribute the remaining 15%.
Voith will get the money from a club of banks, with a guarantee from the German government.
The financing will be for 20 years, with a 5-year grace period
.
From there, the borrowed must be returned.
The work will take five years.
The winning consortium (Helport, from Eurnekian, Panedile, from the Dragonetti family, Eleprint, José Chediack, Hidroeléctrica Ameghino) will subcontract Voith Hydro, which will be in charge of the installation of the
hydro-electromechanical equipment
and the construction of a high-power line. 637 MW.
It will increase the energy available in the Limay basin (Neuquén) by 15%.
The project has to fulfill certain
environmental promises, related to the irrigation capacity for the area, where there is a lot of fruit.
Chihuidos went through different problems.
At the end of 2009, the work was pre-awarded to
Electroingeniería y CPC de Cristóbal López.
They were two companies that were strongly identified with the Casa Rosada.
Also in this consortium were the Brazilian company OAS and the local companies Hidrocuyo and Rovella Carranza.
Pescarmona and other bidders protested, and it was decided to call a second tender.
In October 2014, there was another round of envelope opening.
The groups were headed by Electroingeniería, owned by Gerardo Ferreyra at the time;
CPC, by Cristóbal López;
Helport, from the Eurnekian group, and IMPSA, the Pescarmona group company.
Helport, Panedile, Eleprint, Chediack, Isolux and Hidroeléctrica Ameghino
were chosen.
There he began a dialogue with Russia.
"We hope to agree with Russia, and please don't get nervous, it is necessary to continue expanding the borders," said then-president Cristina Fernández de Kirchner.
The work was going to cost more than what was awarded now and the Russians were going to shell out US$2.6 billion.
But that also foundered.
Between June and July 2017, negotiations began with the German company Voith.
It was going to lend US$ 1,962 million.
Santander Bank and Credit Suisse would participate along with the Germans.
But Mauricio Macri's administration was engrossed in his relationship with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and did not seal it either.
President Mauricio Macri was unable to meet with the German envoys.
Voith Hydro was already operating in the country.
The Yacyretá binational entity awarded that firm the provision of equipment for its Aña Cuá arm.
In April 2021, with the presidency of Alberto Fernández, the Secretariat for Strategic Affairs together with the construction consortium, Voith and the banks, updated the financial proposal.
Work was carried out until reaching the heading for Saturday.
In any case, now we have to
work on the schedule of disbursements and deadlines to move forward with the work.
