With the addenda and accumulated cost overruns, the final amount rose by more than US$455 million, reaching a total investment of over US$2.3 billion, making it the most expensive infrastructure project in the country's history.
SANTO DOMINGO– The Dominican Republic's Chamber of Accounts (CCRD) found evidence of irregularities in its audit of the management of the Punta Catalina Thermoelectric Power Plant between 2013 and 2021, in an investigation ordered by the Executive Branch. Based on these findings, the oversight body requested the intervention of the Public Prosecutor's Office to determine potential administrative, civil, or criminal liabilities.
The report published yesterday, September 2, 2025, reveals that the construction of the power plant began in 2013 with an initial contract of US$1.945 billion, awarded to the Odebrecht-Tecnimont-Estrella consortium.
However, with the addenda and accumulated cost overruns, the final amount rose by more than US$455 million, reaching a total investment of over US$2.3 billion, making it the most expensive infrastructure project in the country's history.
The financing included attempts to secure loans for US$656 million through Brazil's National Bank for Economic and Social Development (BNDES), which were not fully disbursed, in addition to sovereign bond issuances and credit lines with European and local banks.
In operating expenses and start-up tests alone, between 2019 and 2021, an additional approximately US$90 million was added.
In its audit, the Chamber of Accounts warns that the results show irregularities attributable to officials through action or omission, which is why it believes that it is the responsibility of the Public Prosecutor's Office to deepen the investigations.
Punta Catalina, inaugurated in 2020 during Danilo Medina's administration, was presented as the definitive solution to the national electricity deficit. However, from its inception, it was surrounded by criticism for a lack of transparency, cost overruns, and allegations linked to the international Odebrecht bribery scandal.
The Chamber of Accounts reiterated that its role is limited to auditing and recommending actions, while the responsibility for determining legal consequences now falls to the Specialized Prosecutor's Office for the Prosecution of Administrative Corruption (PEPCA), which must evaluate the findings and decide whether to open a judicial process.
Keys to Punta Catalina
- 2013 – The Government of Danilo Medina begins the Punta Catalina Thermoelectric Power Plant in Baní, Peravia, awarded to the Odebrecht-Tecnimont-Estrella consortium.
- 2014-2017 – The project remains under the shadow of questions about cost overruns and alleged bribes linked to the Odebrecht.
- 2019 – After delays and controversies, the first of its two units is switched on for testing.
- 2020 – The power plant is officially inaugurated, with an investment exceeding $2.3 billion, becoming the most expensive infrastructure project in the country.
- 2021 – The Executive Branch requests the Chamber of Accounts to audit the entire process of construction and management of the asset, within the framework of its transparency policy.
- 2025 (September 2) – The Chamber of Accounts publishes the audit report on the period 2013-2021 and recommends that the Public Prosecutor investigate the findings.
