As Comptroller General Rules On Hidroituango Financial Responsibility, Mapfre Pays EPM $100 Million USD Towards Insurance Claim

Today, Colombia’s Comptroller General ruled that 26 individuals and entities are primarily financially responsible for $4.3 trillion pesos in losses ($1.13 billion USD) related to the April, 2018 Hidroituango hydroelectric dam near-disaster in Colombia, and held four insurers civilly responsible, including Spanish insurer Mapfre, who just paid a $100 million disbursement to utility conglomerate Empresas Públicas de Medellín (EPM) last week.

Those individuals and companies held responsible have five business days to appeal, and certainly will do so. One of the primary contractors, Colombian construction firm Conconcreto already stated that it does not agree with the ruling and has instructed its legal team to take necessary steps.

Colombian presidential hopeful Sergio Fajardo is one of the defendants the comptroller held responsible in today’s ruling, along with former Medellín Mayor Federico Restrepo, former candidate Alonso Salazar, and former CEO of EPM / current CEO of Cementos Argos, Juan Esteban Calle. Former mayor of Medellín and suspended governor of Antioquia, Anibal Gaviria was cleared of responsibility, as was former EPM director Jorge Mario Pérez Gallón.

Fajardo issued a brief statement on Twitter saying “I have the certainty and peace of mind that we did well, my team did well, with absolute transparency. We will work on the appeal for reconsideration to show my innocence before the Comptroller’s Office. A lot of calm and a lot of concentration.”

To download the entire ruling document (in Spanish) click here

With last week’s payment of $100 million USD to EPM by Mapfre, the utility has collected a total of $350 million destined to the recovery of the hydroelectric project. EPM states that it expects Hidroituango to begin electrical production by the end of 2022 with two generation units coming online, and the six remaining units between 2023 and 2025.

“The 350 million dollars received to date for the compensation of the contingency in the Ituango Hydroelectric Project, through the ‘all-risk construction and assembly’ policy, are the product of this new payment of $100 million dollars, added to the $150 million dollars delivered by Mapfre in December 2019 and the $100 million dollars reimbursed in September 2020,” said EPM General Manager Jorge Andrés Carrillo Cardoso.

EPM also indicated that it is insured with Mapfre against delays in the project coming online and generating revenues for up to $628 million dollars.

According to Colombia’s Comptroller General, those financially responsible for the Hidroituango loss are:

1. 1. 1. 1. Federico José Restrepo Posada
         2. Juan Esteban Calle Restrepo
         3. Alejandro Antonio Granda Zapata
         4. Fabio Alonso Salazar Jaramillo
         5. Alvaro Julian Villegas Moreno
         6. Sergio Betancur Palacio
         7. Alvaro de Jesús Vásquez Osorio
         8. Ana Cristina Moreno Palacios
         9. Iván Mauricio Pérez Salazar
         10. Jesús Arturo Aristizabal Guevara
         11. Luis Guillermo Gómez Atehortúa
         12. John Alberto Maya Salazar
         13. Luis Javier Vélez Duque
         14. Maria Eugenia Ramos Villa
         15. Rafael Andrés Nanclares Ospina
         16. Sergio Fajardo Valderrama
         17. Luis Alfredo Ramos
         18. Integral S.A.
         19. Integral Ingeniería de Supervisión S.A.S., sucesor de Solingral S.A.
         20. Construcoes E Comercio Camargo Correa S.A.
         21. Constructora Conconcreto
         22. Coninsa Ramón H S.A.
         23. Ferrovial Agroman Chile S.A.
         24. SAINC Ingenieros Constructores S.A.
         25. Ingenieros Consultores Civiles Y Eléctricos S.A. Ingetec
         26. Sedic S.A