Majes Siguas II: it seems that it will never be done

At the level of the Arequipa region, there is concern about what will happen with the Majes Siguas II project, since 8 months after the signing of addendum 13, the works have not restarted. All this, while the Cobra company, which is the concessionaire of the project, demands the payment of 120 million dollars as reparation for the delays.

For the former manager of the Autonomous Authority of Majes (Autodema) and specialist in hydraulic issues, Isaac Martínez Gonzáles, addendum 13 is not working because the Regional Government of Arequipa (GRA) has also incurred in a series of breaches and, in addition, there are fear of signing documents

As reported by La República, the GRA is in a direct deal with the concessionaire before the State Coordination and Response System in International Investment Disputes (Sicreci). This is a step before going to arbitration.

Of the 12 breaches in which the GRA has incurred, eight are part of the direct deal. The first is that the government entity has not complied with the delivery of control of the project of the first phase and updating of the Environmental Impact Study (EIA). Martínez said that this is an oversight of the GRA throughout the efforts of Yamila Osorio Delgado, Elmer Cáceres Llica and later Kimerlee Gutiérrez Canahuire. “There is carelessness and people who were not trained for works of this magnitude,” she said.

The specialist also recalled that for years the problem of obtaining land from the Pusa Pusa annex in the Caylloma district, an area that will be flooded for the Angostura dam, has continued. In August of last year, 21 of the occupants of the properties warned that they would not evict the land until the purchase of compensation land was completed.

Another of the breaches is the implementation of the protection of streams. This point is not being dealt with directly, but it is pending. Martínez explained that in 2015, when it rained in the upper part of the Pampa de Siguas, the water passed over the Pan-American highway and buried the Santa Rita de Siguas canal. He points out that if Majes II was already operational, in the event of a similar rain, the plots would be flooded. The work that must be done, according to Martínez, is the diversion of the ravine in charge of the GRA.

Likewise, there is a breach of a contractual obligation, which is the work to fine-tune existing works. In December of last year, it was announced that the companies that are part of the Majes I Hydraulic consortium that won the tender for the preparation of the pre-investment profile had sanctions or penalties. Martínez considered that at this rate, it seems that Majes Siguas II will never be done and will end up in international litigation.