A committee from the province of La Vega visited the embassy and consulate of Norway to ask that country not to grant the Dominican government a US$264 million loan to build the Manabao-Bejucal-Tavera dam. The dam is contested on the grounds of its high cost and potential environmental damage. The promoters site the benefits of low cost energy it would generate. Salvador Dajer, in a contribution in Hoy newspaper today says the dam would generate power at four times the kilowatt/hour cost of thermal plants. The leading expert on dam construction says a study carried out by a Taiwan mission of 14 experts recommended that Taiwanese investors not participate in the project given the high cost of the power it would generate. Dajer says the dam could take five years to build and would cost over US$450 milllion to produce less than 300 megawatts of power.
