El Bato dam construction begins

Construction of the US$33mn El Bato irrigation dam in Chile's Region IV began Friday, the public works ministry reported. Although the Embalse Illapel consortium (Mendes Junior, Sical Brunol and Ingecol) won the construction and 25-year operating contract in 2001, technical differences had kept the project from moving forward until now. The 25.5M cu. m. dam will be built on the Illapel River and irrigate 3,600ha. It is the first irrigation project offered to the private sector under the concession scheme. PENDING DAM CONCESSIONS A ministry concessions spokesperson told BNamericas that bidding for the US$105mn Convento Viejo dam is expected by mid-year. National environment authority Conama continues to review the project's EIS that was submitted in August. The project would increase the dam's capacity to 257M cu. m. from 27M cu. m., and increase its height to 32m from 16m. The dam is 15km south of Chimbarongo, on the river of the same name in Region VI. The reservoir would irrigate some 30,000ha, and has tourism and power-generation potential. Construction would include some 300km of irrigation network. Meanwhile, bidding processes for the Ancoa and Punilla dams are scheduled to be launched in the second half of this year, said the spokesperson. Ancoa, in Region VII, carries a US$34mn price tag and would be built on the Ancoa River near its confluence with the larger Maule River, while the US$130mn Punilla dam would be built on the Nuble River in Region VIII.