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Mayor Daniel Quintero, in an interview with Noticias RCN, focused, beyond the controversies and disputes that exist in the region, on the technical details of the past, the present of the work and the future of what will be the most important hydroelectric plant. largest in the country.
He maintains his interest in searching through a reconciliation of 9.9 billion pesos from Hidroituango designers, builders and auditors, especially now that the report prepared by an international insurance company was known and that it would confirm that there were failures in the construction process.
“The report is devastating. It is 25 percent less screws, they used lower quality meshes, they did not put the floors. They really failed in so many things that it is difficult to understand how they could fail in design, in construction, in auditing, all at the same time, all the time, “said Quintero.
See also: What are the flaws that the international report detected in Hidroituango?
The local president said that, during the construction of the auxiliary diversion gallery, the tunnel that collapsed in April 2018 and that gave rise to the contingency; gave clear signals of errors that were not resolved and that there were even voices of warning that were not heard.
“Those are not just any screws, they are the ones you see on the street, which are gigantic and that support the mountain. In this case they put 25 percent less of the screws that supported the tunnel that collapsed, they did not put the floors where there was a fault, they did not put the meshes where the meshes had to be put, they over-excavated in many areas ”, he said.
He assures that everything went well with the initial design, but in 2013, during the mayoralty of Aníbal Gaviria and the governor of Sergio Fajardo, it was decided to accelerate the process, which in his opinion and based on the report, marked the fate of the mega-project.
“Since 2013, an acceleration process had already begun that implied a change in designs. If the designs had not changed, today we would have the dam producing energy, ”said the mayor of Medellín.
Regarding the current situation in Hidroituango, Quintero confirmed that the contingency has not yet been completely overcome, but affirmed that the risk for 120,000 people living downstream of the project has been considerably minimized.
“If there was any risk we would immediately announce it, today it does not exist and we will continue to advance. We hope to close the last tunnel by December which, if we close it well, then we can remove the alert and give complete peace of mind to downstream citizens ”.
Also read: The Attorney General’s Office appointed a special agent for conciliation in the EPM-Hidroituango case
The mayor was also optimistic about the entry into operation of the first of the eight turbines that the plant will have.
“We’re waiting for December next year to be producing from the first turbine. It is possible that the coronavirus has delayed us a little bit, but not much and therefore this energy is going to move forward ”.
Currently the project, which is subject to permanent monitoring, shows signs of stability. The covid-19 outbreak has been overcome and work is progressing at a good pace.
In EPM they trust that the expert report, released in the last hours, more than obstacles and darkness, will help to clear and clarify a road that is still long.
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