Project cost increase of Colombia´s largest hydroelectric plant

2,4 GW Ituango hydropower project might face cost overruns of more than USD 1 billion, according to a leading academic. The original budget for the project was COP 1 trillion (USD 3.5 billion), but the costs have drastically increased due to numerous construction complications.

The construction of the dam began in September 2011 and it was expected to be completed in December 2018, but the heavy rain and landslides in the spring of 2018 blocked river diversion tunnel, threatening a breach of the dam. This has caused the state of the emergency, the constructions works were stopped and 113,000 people were evacuated amid fears of flooding.

The project owner Empresas Públicas de Medellín (EPM) recently announced that the dam wall was completed, which, according to EPM "significantly" eased the flooding threat to communities downstream of the project.

EPM estimates that in the best case scenario the delay of the startup of the operation will be three years. EPM´s chief executive Jorge Londono told that when the dam´s crest will be completed, the works will resume on powerhouse and two of the eight turbines are scheduled to be operational in 2021.

Oswaldo Ordonez, a geologist and professor at La Universidad Nacional in Medellin said - “We still don't know the extent of the damage to the turbine rooms and the collapsed tunnels. There are also a number of lawsuits against EPM that could have a large bearing on the overall cost."

EPM is expected to reveal an updated budged by the end of the year after further studies are completed.

Located in Antioquia Department about 170 km northeast of Medellin on the Cauca River, which flows through northwestern Colombia, the facility will upon completion be the country’s largest hydroelectric facility, capable of generating 2,400 megawatts. It will generate approximately 18% of Colombia’s total installed power capacity and approximately 13,900 GWh of renewable electricity per year. 

The finished dam will be 225 meters high and 20 million cubic meters in volume, and consist of eight turbines, to be completed in two phases.

In addition to the planned hydraulic and electromechanical works, the project includes building a two-lane asphalt concrete road between the dam site and Puerto Valdivia and a 500 kV transmission line to connect the energy produced to the grid.