Investigation: CEL awarded 23 contracts worth $218.5 million at El Chaparral under secrecy
Summary
Gato Encerrado and Revista Factum publish a joint investigation of the El Chaparral hydroelectric plant (renamed Central 3 de Febrero). According to the report, between June 2019 and mid-2023 CEL awarded 23 contracts worth $218.5 million to finish the dam, bridges and access roads after declaring the project "urgent" on April 14, 2020, which allowed direct awards. Secrecy over the file, in force since 2014, was extended in 2021 through January 20, 2028. The report contrasts bridge lighting (more than $2.5 million, per CEL's 2024-2025 annual report) with 370 of 5,272 households in San Antonio, Carolina and San Luis de la Reina still without formal electricity, according to the 2024 census. Figures and findings are from the journalistic investigation.
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