On December 20, the Minister of Environment participated in a meeting with ENDE and the Government of Santa Cruz to resume the Rositas dam project. “Data from the 60s, was promoted in the 70s, resumed in 2012 and today "reconsidered" by the government of Añez.” The estimated cost during the Morales government was more than 1.5 billion dollars, financed almost entirely by a Chinese loan. The project was suspended by the Morales government in October 2018, and is now again being considered as a “desired project” despite the technical data documenting the drastic environmental and social impact since the river would be diverted, the communities would be relocated and several protected areas would be drastically affected.
“Indigeneous communities denounced the meeting” claiming that” it was intended to redirect the project without consensus with those affected. Given these accusations, the minister clarified that the” mega-dam “will not be executed without the support of communities. However” she “said” “It is a project longed for by the people of” Santa Cruz “because it is a development project.”
On behalf of the Government of Santa Cruz, Roly Aguilera, pointed out as advantages of the work “the control of floods in the Rio Grande that affect producers, the hydroelectric plant that will inject 600 megawatts of electricity into the national integrated system, potable drinking water that will be generated and, finally, the irrigation system that will be implemented ”
“Seven days after the meeting, the Committee on Defense of Land and Territory declared an emergency and permanent mobilization. Through a manifesto the Committee reiterated its refusal to the project and reiterated that “for irrigation it is not necessary to build the death dam”.
“Instead of insisting on this, the new authorities should be supervising the works currently carried out by the Chinese in Bolivia, which report many irregularities with the environment, ”said Miranda.
Although the resurrection of the project is presented as a push for agribusiness, “it will not be so.” “Pablo Solón, researcher and specialist in the subject, warns that the only sector that would really benefit from the hydroelectric plant would be construction.”
The mega-dam “would generate electricity at a cost of US $ 74.33 per megawatt hour (US $ / MWh) when the average purchase price is US $ 41 / MWh…Additionally, Bolivia has an offer of 3,200 MW of installed power and demand nationwide only reaches 1,600 MW…This shows that there is no need for self-consumption to justify the work and there are no export contracts that guarantee the investment.”
Read the entire Spanish-language article here.