The native peoples in the area where the Instituto Costarricense de Electricidad (ICE) intends to develop a mega hydroelectric power generation say their land has been usurped without right.

For its part, the ICE assures that for the time being they are only performing exploratory excavations and are not constructing as some representatives of the group of indigents have claimed.

The article by Mercedes Aguero, for The Nation, notes that: "the ICE intended initially, only to promote the hydroelectric initiative, but has ended up recognizing that the complexity of the issue requires the intervention of the Government and its institutions .

Source: Nacion.com

More on this topic

650 MW Hydroelectric Project: Yes or No?

May 2018

The new Minister of Environment and Energy in Costa Rica is opposed to the Diquís project, which the state electricity company has been promoting for ten years, and which consists of building a hydroelectric generation plant in Puntarenas.

While the new leaders of the Costa Rican Institute of Electricity (ICE) announced their intention to refloat the project, which due to unconstitutionality appeals filed against it has remained on paper for years, the Ministry of Environment and Energy has declared its opposition, stating that "... there are no studies or other assessments on the social and economic impact that justify the declaration of national convenience given to the project a decade ago."

Revival of El Diquís Hydroelectric Project in Costa Rica

March 2016

A story that has now been going on for twenty years could be resumed with the adoption of a legal framework to be used to consult with the natives living in the area where the 650 MW plant would be built.

EDITORIAL

Finally, there is a legal framework to start once and for all the "intercultural dialogue" that is needed to give the green light to the construction of one of the most important hydroelectric projects for the future energy supply of the country.

Electricity, Indigenous People, Development

April 2014

In Costa Rica the high electricity rates are driving out foreign investment while indigenous opposition impedes progress of the construction of a 650 MW hydroelectric power plant.

It is time that the region starts to balance conservation policies with the needs of development so as to allow an escape from poverty for those who are currently held down by it and who at the same time are holding the rest of society hostage.

Expropriations Could Delay El Diquis Hydro Power Plant

March 2010

The Costa Rican Electricity Institute (ICE) must expropriate 1.500 lots to build hydroelectric power plant El Diquis in the south of the country.

ICE will have to disburse $60 million to purchase lots and relocate nearby populations. This accounts for 3% of the entire cost of the project, estimated at $2.000 million.