Former US diplomat-turned businessman Manuel Rocha signed the XCoal Energy & Resources deal with the government-built Punta Catalina power plant for the supplying of coal to the Medina administration built 752MW Punta Catalina power plant. The government has begun tests of the power plant that should begin to serve power to the national grid starting in the first half of 2019. A report in El Dia is headlined that the government achieved that the United States “give its blessing” to Punta Catalina with the signing of the deal.
The power plant is the largest contract negotiated by the Brazilian firm Odebrecht in the Dominican Republic. The company admitted to paying US$92 million in bribes to secure contract work in the country in a New York City court. The case is being heard in the local judiciary, but the Punta Catalina power plant investigation has been excluded from the case.
Manuel Rocha served as acting ambassador (attache d’affairs) in the Dominican Republic, prior to being named to a high-ranking position at the US Embassy Argentina and later to be the US ambassador in Panama. He then joined the private sector, working with Foley & Lardner LLP, and would keep his ties to the Dominican Republic when returning in 2012 as president of the Barrick Gold in the country.
Manuel Rocha signed the contract as senior vice president for XCoal. XCoal won the tender to supply 462,000 metric tons of coal that will be used to fire the Central Termoelectrica Punta Catalina (CTPC) in its test phase.
In a press release from the US Embassy, US Ambassador Robin Bernstein, who was present at the signing, states: “Increasing commercial relations between our countries is one of my key priorities. The United States is and will remain the Dominican Republic’s strongest economic partner. As such, the United States government works closely with the Dominican Government to ensure that public procurement processes, such as the Punta Catalina coal tender, are fair and transparent. With fair and transparent tenders, US companies like Xcoal Energy can compete on a level playing field to ensure the Dominican people receive the best value for their tax dollars from reliable world-class companies.
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US Embassy
El Dia
17 October 2018
