Spotlight: Honduras' US$220mn El Tablón multipurpose dam

Uncertainty remains regarding the date to begin construction of the Tablón multipurpose dam in Honduras, with authorities pushing back the schedule and adjusting the capex once again during 2022, after various other delays over the last decade. 

The US$220mn project involves the construction, operation and administration of a dam on the Chamelecón River in the Sula Valley in northwest Honduras. 

The main objective is to regulate the flow of the river in Santa Bárbara department and control the floods it causes. It will also generate 20-30MW of hydroelectric power, promote agriculture through sustainable irrigation of the Sula valley and supply drinking water to the region. 

“It will also allow the use of approximately 30,000ha of land for agricultural use that would give us greater food security,” executive director of the Cortés trade and industry chamber (CCIC), Kevin Rodríguez, told Channel 8 earlier this year.

Honduran state power company Enee's renewable energy projects special unit Ueper will be responsible for the execution of the initiative, which is expected to take 920 days.

The dam came under the spotlight after Honduras was hit by hurricanes Eta and Iota in late 2020, which highlighted the need for flood regulation projects. The storms caused damage estimated at 52bn lempiras (US$2bn), according to a report released by the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (Eclac).

In June, energy minister Erick Tejada said that works on the first stage of El Tablón could begin as early as the second half of 2023. 

“The first stage of the project will include the validation of the hydrological studies and it should be noted that the entire project will cost around US$200mn. Nowadays, thanks to the restructuring of the country’s general budget, we have approximately 700mn lempiras to handle the initial activities,” he said.

However, on November 9 the minister confirmed to representatives of organizations in the Sula valley that the studies would only be completed by December 2023, pushing back the start of construction to 2024, newspaper El Heraldo reported. 

The capex of the project was also raised to US$220mn, most of which will be provided by Honduras’ central bank.

Once the field surveys are completed, the tender process to choose the construction company will begin.  

“We will create the terms of reference and we will award the contract afterwards. The emergency factor allows us to do it with a direct award [of the contract], but we will use a mechanism to receive several offers,” Tejada was quoted as saying by El Heraldo. 

The project could also face opposition from inhabitants of nearby communities. In August, representatives of La Ceibita town told Radio Progreso that nearly 500 families would be displaced by the dam and asked the government to provide accurate information on the project. 

Construction of the dam has been postponed several times during the last decade, but current President Xiomara Castro has repeatedly vowed to get works underway.