Spanish, US companies line up to administer Distriguayaquil

US power company AES and Spanish companies Union Fenosa and Endesa are interested in bidding on a contract to administer Ecuador's Guayaquil distributor, Distriguayaquil, local newspaper El Universo reported. The tender is likely to be launched and the contract signed early in the second half of 2004, the paper reported. The winner would have to guarantee investments in the cash-strapped company during the first year of the contract. Meanwhile, five companies have indicated their interest in bidding on a contract to advise the distributor's management for at least six months until a new administrator is found, the paper reported. The companies are AP consulting, Sigla, Wood Group, Ima-grupo Axis Gestion. S&A Consultora. Distriguayaquil will decide the winner by the end of January, the paper reported. Distriguayaquil and Electroguayaquil were created from the assets of now defunct distributor Emelec and generator Electroecuador, which were turned over to the province in July 2003 after a prolonged legal battle. The companies were in ownership limbo since former owner, businessman Fernando Aspiazu, was charged in 2000 for irregularities in the administration of his bank Progreso, which declared bankruptcy. The state government finally approved the transfer of the companies' assets to a local trust fund controlled by a committee of creditors and government officials.