President Varela who takes office next month has announced the revival of a project that has been elusive for several years due to lack of economic viability. An article on Larepublica.co reports on the reactivation of the power interconnection project with Colombia “… and that the project with Empresas Públicas de Medellín (EPM) will be refloated, this being the company that is building the main electricity dams in the in the neighboring country.”
“… The president’s proposal is that the transmission line will have capacity to transport 600 MW, not 300, in order to ensure energy security in the country over the next 20 years, and hire EPM for consultancy on evaluating cooperation regarding the sewer issue, for which they are studying models in Barranquilla, Cartagena and Medellin.
Panamanians don’t like hydroelectric dams because they flood land and divert rivers; they don’t like thermoelectric plants because they would have to pay dearly for the oil to generate electricity, they pollute the air and heat the climate, they don’t want the Darien opened because they think the Colombians will reclaim Panama. Meanwhile electricity consumption increases by 4% yearly. So, something’s gotta give! Because without electricity the economy will stall and eventually decrease. Bringing electricity from Colombia is the only option, the wind and solar projects being constructed, although helpful, are way below the national demand. Colombia has ample capacity to cover panama’s demand for many years into the future. And there will be additional benefits, those high power lines will require a maintenance road and that will be the birth of the long awaited final piece of the Panamerican highway. For those persons concerned about the environment of the Darien, let me tell you that it will remain 99.9% unchanged, pacific side of the darien is full of big swamps, which are impenetrable and will remain so; the center of the Darien is full of mountains and rivers also impenetrable and will remain so; only the caribbean coast of the Darien offers some plains suitable for large infrastructure and through there the connection will be made and the road built. The paved roads are 100 Km from the border on each side so it is not very expensive and the Colombians have repeatedly offered to pay for it. An isolated Panamanian town on the Border, Puerto Obaldia, will probably see a boom, but if North and South America are finally connected through the caribbean coast all of Panama will become a land canal for commercial traffic that will require logistical support and that will create a boom for all of Panama. Let us hope that this project doesn’t generate one of those long and unproductive national debates that Panamanians love to engage in.
The revival of a project that has been elusive for several years due to lack of economic viability! What has changed? Follow the money……