The Minister of Public Works, Jéssica López, who is visiting the Ñuble region, recognized the possibility of a new postponement of the tender for the concession of the La Punilla reservoir. This process, which began in November 2021, has been postponed on five occasions, the last of which was April 19 as the deadline for receiving technical offers, while May 17 was set for the opening of economic offers.
As will be remembered, the irrigation megaproject that will be built on the Ñuble River, in San Fabián and Coihueco, was subjected to a reevaluation by the government at the beginning of the Boric administration, with the objective of incorporating social and environmental aspects that, According to the Executive, they were not considered in the bidding rules or in the environmental qualification resolution (RCA).
It was on July 5 the last time that the MOP extended the deadlines, when it reported, through clarifying circular No. 5 of the bidding process, that the deadline for receiving technical offers was moved from July 7, 2023. to April 19, 2024.
This time, the problem has to do with the cancellation of the RCA of the Punilla-San Fabián transmission line, a complementary work that will allow the hydroelectric energy generated in La Punilla to be evacuated and injected into the network.
“We are seeing it (the postponement), because a situation arose that has to do more with one aspect of the project and that is the development of the energy generation activity and transmission, which generates a change in the project. So, we are analyzing it to see how we incorporate this new element (…) We will have news very soon,” explained the Secretary of State.
And Although the execution of the transmission line corresponds to the concessionaire company, López defended the role of the State in public infrastructure projects of this type. “This is another issue for the Ministry, let us never forget that the concessionaire is one thing, but here it is a public infrastructure. It is from the state of Chile that the delivery for the construction and administration of an operator, which in this case is a private operator, but it is state infrastructure, has to do with the design of the infrastructure that we want for the region, so it is an issue that is essentially ours,” he stated.
consulted by the resistance of opposition groups and the criticism of the Punilla Roundtable, stated that “the La Punilla project has its particular characteristics, it actually has opposition groups, I once met with them and I prefer to stay with the fact that they are rather concerns that the people regarding the impact of these works, because no one will ever be able to say that these works do not have an impact, and on the other hand, no one can say that they are not a very important contribution to the development, not only of this region, but of the entire region. the country. So, the challenge is how to reconcile these views, in the case of La Punilla, in which we have many sectors that support the development of this project. They are very important works that have very diverse impacts. One, of course, is having the capacity to store water, and that in a country that is increasingly experiencing water availability difficulties, is important. Afterwards, which we verified last year, is the importance that this infrastructure has for emergencies, when we see the impact that climate change is having, and in particular the way in which the rains are manifesting, for example, these violent rains in short periods, then, we need infrastructure that allows us to better manage these flows, so that they do not generate destruction. In short, there are several points of view where I think you have to do the math and say that this is good for Chile.”
Zapallar Reservoir
The head of the MOP participated in two milestones for the Zapallar reservoir project, which will be located on the Diguillín River, in El Carmen and Pinto.
Yesterday, in El Carmen, he led the act of constitution of the commission to monitor commitments for the construction of the Zapallar reservoir, and later, he traveled to San Ignacio, where he participated in the signing of the “Protocol of commitment to Ñuble and its future for the construction of the Zapallar reservoir.”
In that sense, he expressed that “Zapallar is going from strength to strength: the RCA has already been approved and today we have the constitution of the table to monitor the commitments and conditions that are established.”
From this, he estimated that the start of construction work on the Zapallar could occur at the end of 2025.
Asked about the presentation, this week, of two administrative appeals against the environmental approval of the Zapallar reservoir, the minister stated that, “beyond this particular case, in the country we have to be able to do things in a way that leave everyone satisfied. So I hope that we can talk, accept all the proposals that exist in different instances, if they raise it from the courts, we will have to see it there. But when one appreciates the impacts that this work will have in different senses, I believe that they are works that have to do with the future of our country and of a significant magnitude. So, the objections, that of course these works are of such magnitude that they have an impact, the way is how we manage that, how we manage that impact on the people, on the territories, on the vegetation, in different areas, we have to be able to do it well. I am confident, at least it is our position as a Ministry, that we are in a moment where we have to do the works in a way that gives satisfaction, hopefully, to everyone.”
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