Within the framework of the International ADR Center of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), the Dominican Government, through the Corporación Dominicana de Empresas Eléctricas Estatales, managed to reduce from $973.2 million to $395.5 million the amount claimed by the Odebrecht-Tecnimont-Estrella Consortium as additional payment for the construction of the Central Termoeléctrica Punta Catalina (CTPC) coal-fired, power project.
The final settlement was reached through a negotiation process between the parties, which started in July 2017, and ended in an international mediation in New York, NY, USA, in accordance with the Mediation Rules of the ICC, that took place in several sessions held between the months of January and March 2020.
Of the $395.5 million agreed upon to settle said disputes, the Dominican Government will only be required to disburse $59.5 million. A $336 million Contingent Fund was originally established in June 2018 to secure continuation of the works, will be credited toward payment of the $395.5 million total amount agreed upon.
The $59.5 million payment will be made gradually and to the extent the consortium completes, within certain deadlines, the remaining works to which such payment has been subject to, including successful completion of the tests necessary to bring CTPC’s Unit 2 into final operation. This will allow the government to take advantage of the maximum generation potential of CTPC’s two power-generating units, which account for between 30% and 35% of the demand supplied through the Interconnected National Electric System (SENI).
CTPC is the main infrastructure project undertaken by the Dominican Government and constitutes the largest power generation facility in the country. CTPC is comprised of two coal-fired units of 376 MW each, for a total gross capacity of 752 MW, with a nominal efficiency of 39.2%-LHV, a coal handling port, and other related infrastructure, including, among others, a completely closed building to store 200,000 metric tons of coal, a 345-kV output electrical substation and a 345-kV transmission line. CTPC’s projected revenues are estimated at US$550 million annually, with an EBITDA of US$250 million annually. The annual positive impact of CTPC on the public sector’s finances is estimated at between 0.4% and 0.5% of the country’s GDP.
