Silvio Carrasco, head of the National Hydraulic Resource Institute (INDRHI), announced that the dam at Monci?n was the winner of the International Prize ?El Puente Alc?ntara?, organized by the San Benito Foundation of Alc?ntara, Spain. The Monci?n dam was competing with 20 other hydraulic engineering projects all over the Spanish-speaking world. Initially, there were 300 projects submitted for consideration, and among the 20 finalists, the Monci?n dam won unanimously, based on the beauty of its construction, its social impact and the multiple uses that it will serve. Carrasco noted that in the first year of use the dam has produced 150 million kilowatts of energy and over RD$1 billion of earnings for farmers in the region.