The Minister of Energy and Mines, Antonio Almonte, delivered to the Chamber of Accounts, the Comptroller General of the Republic and the general administration of the Punta Catalina Thermoelectric Power Plant the technical-forensic audit of the process of construction and commissioning of that plant by the American engineering firm Sargent and Lundy.
The engineer Almonte visited the three entities separately to deliver the technical study directly to Janel Andrés Ramírez Sánchez, president of the Chamber of Accounts; Mr. Félix Antonio Santana García, Comptroller General of the Republic and Mr. Celso Marranzini Pérez, General Manager of the thermoelectric plant.
The United States company Sargent & Lundy was contracted through international public bidding CDEEE-CCC-LPI-2021-0002, in accordance with Law 340-06 on Public Procurement and Contracting.
The study was carried out between November 2021 and October 2022 and addresses the design processes, receipt of materials and equipment, the construction, testing and commissioning stages of the thermoelectric complex.
The information in the report could be very useful for the present and future efficient management of the generating plants and their related areas. In addition, for the review and confirmation of compliance with the contractual stipulations assumed by the consortium headed by the Odebrecht firm, responsible for the construction of the project.
The firm Sargent & Lundy carried out its investigation during the period from November 2021 to October 2022. During that period, it delivered preliminary reports that were studied by the MEM technical teams.
Sargent & Lundy is a respectable engineering firm with extensive international experience in this type of assessment and a consultant to the Department of Energy of the United States government.
During the visits, Minister Almonte was accompanied by the Vice Minister of Energy, Rafael Gómez. Likewise, in each institution visited, the officials were accompanied by some of his main collaborators.