Most questions at a public forum as part of environmental permitting for Generadora Gatún’s US$1bn, 670MW natural gas-fired power project in Panama dealt with employment.

That is according to the report from the meeting (pictured) that was drafted by consultancy URS Holdings and released by the environment ministry.

A total of 167 participants signed the attendance list for the forum which was held on June 11 in the city of Colón.

The plant would be built on Telfers Island and take 32-34 months to complete. The direct and indirect areas of influence cover 34ha and 799ha, respectively.

One of the concerns was the percentage of local labor in the project versus foreign workers.

“With the experience we have of the plant that has been operating since 2018 [in Colón], I can guarantee that there, of the 100% of the people who participated, 90% were Panamanians,” Harold Hernández from Generadora told the audience.

One of the company’s shareholders is AES which operates the 381MW Colón natural gas-fired plant – Central America’s first such undertaking.

AES holds 24% of Generadora, InterEnergy Group 51% and Panama’s government 25%.

Hernández highlighted that of the 90%, more than half were from Colón.

The Generadora official also told the forum that the employment process will be “inclusive” and that the company has started to receive résumés.

The developer envisions up to 3,000 jobs during peak construction and 50-100 during operation.

Another issue raised by participants was the project’s impact on electricity bills.

“What you can expect is a stabilization of the regulated tariff and a contribution from the plant for a greater share of renewable energy,” said Hernández.

The 121-page report, which includes the project’s presentation, is available here.

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