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dam-l LS: Courts give Endesa Green Light on Ralco
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CHIP NEWS
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Date: October 4, 1999
Subject: Courts give Endesa Green Light on Ralco
Sources: El Mercurio, La Tercera
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-- COURTS GIVE ENDESA GREEN LIGHT ON RALCO.
A Santiago appeals court Friday suspended the court order paralyzing
the construction of electricity firm Endesa's US$460 million Ralco dam
project on the upper Bio Bio River in southern Region VIII. Endesa now
has full legal backing to order its subcontracted construction company,
Besalco, to resume work on the huge hydroelectric project.
The court order, issued in the middle of September, was the result of a ruling on a
suit brought against Ralco by two Pehuenche indigenous sisters who will
have to relocate if the dam is constructed. Even though the court order
has been suspended, the original suit still awaits a final decision.
The court must analyze three aspects that have yet to be resolved:
contested water rights, the environmental impact assessment and
whether the Electricity Law or the Indigenous People's Law takes
precedence in the case. If the indigenous law is favored, the dam
may not be constructed because of the indigenous families who
refuse to leave their land. Ralco had been scheduled to be completed
and operating in 2002, and is projected to supply 570 MW to the
central power grid (SIC).
While Endesa officials announced in September they were
re- evaluating the dam's viability, its board of directors later
affirmed it had every intention of completing the project. --
*Chip News*
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Monti Aguirre
Latin American Campaigns
International Rivers Network
1847 Berkeley Way
Berkeley, CA. 94703 USA
Phone: 510 . 848.11.55 and 707 . 591 .91.49
Fax: 510 . 848.10.08
e-mail: monti @irn.org
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