Does the public-private project have a few hours left? Majes Siguas II? This Monday, May 8, the term of direct treatment ends due to the controversies that arose between the Cobra concessionaire and the grantor of the Regional Government.
Arequipa (GRA). If there are no agreements before the SICRECI of the Ministry of Economy and Finance (MEF) the next step is an international arbitration that will indefinitely suspend the work.
The Arequipa Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCIA) convened the GRA and Cobra on different dates. Various actors participated, to “learn the reasons that hinder the reactivation” of the project. Joaquín Roura, representative of Cobra, remained in his thirteen. He alleges the GRA’s lack of will to solve the problems. “We are not asking for money but for papers (…) We need will and that there are officials who do not hesitate to decide“He said on Thursday, May 4. It should be noted that in the direct deal they demand $120 million for damages.
Roura asked for serious commitments. It alleges that there has been a breach of the sovereign guarantee, the trust addendum, the approval of technical file No. 2 (although on this point there are hundreds of observations that the company did not raise) and control of the project (land). Roura added that they cannot do the financial closure without all of this.
One of the participants at the table was that of the former Minister of Agriculture, Adolfo de Córdova. “There are a number of breaches by both parties. The original contract was distorted, with the TUO of 2015 and with addendum 13. I’m afraid it’s in favor of Cobra. I recognize his ability to position himself better, “he commented ironically.
For Córdova, a former minister who signed the contract, the initial agreements should have been complied with and that the GRA was responsible for these distortions. “Cobra won the contest in 2010 with those conditions of making open channels. They knew it, they proposed it and that’s how they won. After 8 years they cannot now say that they will do it through pipes. That is the distortion of the original contract,” he said.
original model
The former senior official proposed to Roura as a true commitment for the reactivation to return to the original model of the project. The manager replied that a new addendum would be required. At another time he said that there will be no more addendums from Cobra.
The president of the Board of Users of the South macro region, Saúl Duran, mentioned that the intention of the private party would be to go to arbitration. “Is the project really viable with a cost of 604 million? Arbitration is probably what Cobra is finally looking for,” he said.
They envision arbitration
The president of the Agricultural Society of Arequipa (SADA), Daniel Lozada congratulated the Cobra company with some sarcasm for the better situation it is in in a possible international arbitration. “Cobra’s work has been on paper and I congratulate the work they have done on paper,” he said.
For the president of the CCIA, Julio Cáceres Arce, he asked to save the project for Arequipa. “The intention is to avoid going to arbitration,” he said.
Adolfo de Córdova rather maintained that the technological change approved with addendum 13 is not such in any part of the world. “It is difficult to reach a solution. Cobra has expiration in its favor and the regional government is in a terrible position due to the minutes and addendums,” he said.
Source: Larepublica
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