Construction of Honduran dam advancing slowly

Construction of the controversial San José dam in Honduras, intended to supply water to capital Tegucigalpa, is progressing slowly, with the project currently at 40% completion, according to city authorities.

In November last year, when the goal was to inaugurate the dam in 2025, construction was reportedly only 25% complete. At the current pace, it would take an additional four years to finish it. However, at a press conference on Tuesday, Central district mayor Jorge Aldana announced a new target to complete the dam in January 2026.

Construction of the dam, designed to provide water to 300,000 residents of the capital, began in 2021 and the completion date has been pushed back multiple times. In May 2023, Aldana projected that the dam would be ready in 2027-28, but by November, he had revised this to April 2025.

“We aim to finish the dam in 2025. Progress is being made quickly following some bureaucratic setbacks that occurred when the project transitioned between administrations. The initial contract involved the privatization of water,” Aldana stated in November, referring to an amendment made to the construction contract awarded to Hidalgo e Hidalgo in 2020.

The contract was revised after NGOs and local media reported that the company was facing legal issues in Panama, including accusations of paying US$155mn in bribes to the economy ministry.

In February 2023, the Honduran congress approved the amended contract.

Prior to these developments, the project faced rights-of-way issues that halted construction in 2022 when landowners blocked access to areas, claiming the government had not compensated them.

The municipality's investment in the San José dam project stands at 1.3bn lempiras (approximately US$51.8mn).

In addition to the San José dam, the central district is also working to advance the Jiniguare and Río del Hombre dams. Reports indicate that a contract has been signed for the construction of the latter.