During the Governing Council held yesterday, the mayor of Medellín, Daniel Quintero, questioned the date where Hidroituango would begin to operate. This would call into question the date announced by the national government, when President Iván Duque, during his visit to the project, indicated that work would begin on July 26, with the start of operation of the first turbine.
He even added that if this period was exceeded, it could result in a serious multimillion-dollar fine for the country,
Quintero suggested, that they should not rush to deliver, since it is better to “be sure that everything is well finished”.
But, what was said in the Governing Council is very contrary to what it said a few minutes ago on Caracol Radio, since it ensures that the date of entry into operation is maintained for July 26, since there are no setbacks so that the established is not fulfilled, “We are going very well, Hidroituango is going full steam. We are day and night. It is one of the most complex projects; tunnels to cover and so on. This energy would be essential for the country, we are focused on it going to work.”
He clarified that there is still a high level of risk, in fact, there are areas with red alert. One of the causes is a tunnel that must be closed to ensure the “full safety” of the inhabitants. Faced with the shortcomings of the project, he said, “By 2013, due to decisions that sought to increase the value of the work and gain months, they changed the design of the work. The third tunnel was built with poor material and less rod and concrete. This led to the collapse of this tunnel. If this tunnel had collapsed, but the others hadn't closed, today the dam would be producing energy. There were cost overruns of 12 trillion pesos, we already recovered 4.3 and we are doing our best to get it out as quickly as possible without risking the project.”
He also assured that they are taking all necessary measures to reduce the risk of downstream communities, which is one of the points that has generated the most doubts due to the contingencies that the work has presented, mainly due to the structural failures that have been reported.
Officially, according to Natasha Avendaño García, superintendent of home public services, the progress of the project is more than 80%. The control and surveillance body clarified that there will be a scheduled follow-up in order to ensure compliance and that its operation starts properly.
It should be noted that the CCC Ituango Consortium, operator of the work, announced in February in a letter addressed to the Public Companies of Medellín, EPM, that the announced schedules did not fit reality.
In contrast, pressure from the national government continues to maintain that July 26 will be the date where the megaproject will start operating. “We will continue to monitor the state of Hidroituango since our commitment and that of the entire National Government is to support the entry into operation of the most important electrical infrastructure project that has the country,” said Superintendent Avendaño.
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