Odebecht and Punta Catalina

ju10prd

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http://hoy.com.do/gobierno-favorecio-a-odebrecht-se-habria-comprometido-pagar-doble/

http://www.elnuevoherald.com/noticias/mundo/america-latina/article76808182.html

Web translation of El Nuevo Herald article referred to by Hoy.


May 10, 2016 5:22 PM
Corruption and favoritism in project of Odebrecht in Dominican
The Brazilian company enjoyed favouritism in bidding of project of thermal power plant
It had a turnover of astronomical salaries that a welder would earn more than the President of the Republic
Dominican authorities paid $1,000 million more for the same work
adelgado@elnuevoherald.com


The Dominican Government could have been committed to pay double to the less-skilled company when he chose the troubled Brazilian company Odebrecht for the construction of a thermal power station in Punta Catalina, in a project plagued by accusations of favoritism and over-invoicing of prices.
Documents obtained by el Nuevo Herald show that the Dominican Government supplied Odebrecht Insider to help you win the tender for the construction of the power project and that the Brazilian company subsequently billed exorbitant wages for workers in the work, under a scheme that led to a welder to earn more than the President of the Republic.
Wages quoted by Odebrecht become best paid workers in Dominican Republic, with salaries that exceeds up to thousand employees of the work times the minimum wage in the country for the same professions.

Under the scheme, the Welders hired to work would receive $99.96 per hour, foremen $49.40 per hour and Masons $32.42 per hour, said the contract approved hastily by the Dominican Congress, even if Odebrecht was already investigated in Brazil for corruption.
In addition, carpenters had planned to receive $32.42, electricians $29.25 and production operators $21.91 hourly.
The lowest wages are reserved for "skilled workers". However, the $18.55 hour that they planned to charge exceeded the $16 per hour charged, on average, a welder in United States.
Welders hired to work would receive $99.96 per hour, foremen $49.40 per hour and Masons $32.42 per hour, said the contract approved hastily by the Dominican Congress
It is unknown if Odebrecht actually paid those wages to its workers, but the amounts stipulated by the Welders had led them to earn more than the President Danilo Medina.
The rate of change of 41.3 pesos per dollar that was valid in 2013, year in which was signed the contract welder working full-time wage would amount to 660,535.68 pesos a month, exceeding the 450,000 pesos per month that Medina was awarded that year.

The documents obtained by el Nuevo Herald were recently collected in the framework of the research in Brazil on the corruption scandal which led to jail the former President of the firm's engineering, Marcelo Odebrecht .
But the work, which faces problems of financing, already had about two years being challenged in Dominican Republic, under accusations that the other three firms that competed against Odebrecht in the tender were most qualified to perform the work and charged much less.

"The awarded company, Norberto Odebrecht-CA, is the company of minor technical qualification compared with other participating companies and with the highest economic price bids, USD 2,040 million," says a complaint made before the Senate by the Consortium IMPE S.R.L, which partnered with the china Gezhouba Group Company Limited, to compete in the bidding.
The Congress had approved a cap maximum of $1,500 million for the construction of the thermal power station with a capacity of 700 megawatts and bids should not exceed that amount.
Three of the four consortia finalists, which were the most qualified, according to the complaint of IMPE submitted bids lower than the established ceiling, and the china Gezhouba Group Company Limited said that it could do the work for $900 million, Secops just 111 earned $1,150 million and Posco quoted $1,200 million, highlights the denunciation of Impe.

However, the regulator of the power industry of the country - the Dominican Corporation of State electric companies (CDEEE) - later said that the bid submitted by Posco also exceeded the ceiling set by the Senate, with a total of nearly $2,000 million.
The argument used by the Dominican Government to award the tender to Odebrecht is that the Brazilian firm took a better assessment than its rivals, with the CDEEE giving a rating of 48.95 points versus the 35.70 points obtained Posco; the China Gezhouba Group 34.85 and 29.95 Sepco III Electric Power Construction Corporation.
The Dominican Government has concluded that Odebrecht was better qualified signature has many scratching your head, said from Dominican Republic Raul Cabrera, General Manager of the Consortium IMPE, the Dominican component of the group formed by the China Gezhouba Group.
"Before opening the technical proposal evaluations, the same CDEEE declared our age who had the most experience to the firm. China Gezhouba was building the dam of the three Gorges Dam, the world's largest at the time and had a curriculum of more than 60 plants of coal around the world,"said Cabrera.


"They ended up delivering the project to a company that has not built anywhere in a coal plant, has no curriculum to compete against any of the other companies," he added.
That, however, was not impediment for the Dominican authorities paid him $1,000 million more for the same work.
Documents that came to light in Brazil as a result of investigations that are performed to Odebrecht show that the Brazilian firm had a privileged treatment, thanks in part to the good offices of President Dilma Rousseff, who on at least one occasion acted as a lobbyist for the Brazilian firm.
According to an email electronic submitted in August 2012 by Marcelo Odebrecht suggested the President of Brazil, which emerged within the framework of the Operation Lava Jato, the head of the Brazilian firm that it was "important to Rousseff talk trust that Odebrecht and disposal financing from BNDES [Brazil Development Bank] for their projects".


Once started the bidding process, the own Medina came to Odebrecht to help warn you directly produced in the bidding, even though only unexpected about was President-elect for that moment, showed a cable sent by the Embassy of Brazil that was obtained by el Nuevo Herald.
"The decision of the CDEEE, announced by Executive Vice President, Ruben Bichara, which involves expectations of interests, among others, the Brazilian companies Norberto Odebrecht and Andrade Gutierrez, [...]" It would correspond to the statements issued by the elected President, Danilo Medina, during his visit to Brazil, the last July", reports the cable.
 

Hillbilly

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Jan 1, 2002
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This just confirms everything we posted years ago. Those are the wages "charged" not actually paid to the workers you can stake your baby's life on that.

At the time, I suggested that the price was perhaps twice what it should have cost, but then, again, it is costly to remain in power with all of the trappings and entourages.

In US parlance, this is called a "boondoggle" of the highest order.

HB
 

windeguy

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Jul 10, 2004
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This kind of thing only happens when the DR government issues contracts to buy products or services.