El Encanto still awaits approval

Costa Rica's comptroller has not yet approved local distributor CNFL's 8MW El Encanto hydro project as the auction system for public institution projects is under revision due to apparent instances of corruption, a CNFL source told BNamericas. The US$26mn-31mn project would be the first to be located on the Aranjuez river in the Puntarenas province. Earlier this year, CNFL had preliminarily awarded the contract to Spanish company Inabensa but this process has not yet been approved. The project could even be cancelled, the source said, adding that it would be difficult for the El Encanto contract to be awarded this year.