Two Salvadoran government agencies are insisting on not giving the majority shares in the La Geo generator to Italy's Enel, despite a court of international arbitration ruling against them.
Inversiones Energéticas (INE) and Comisión Ejecutiva Hidroeléctrica del Río Lempa (CEL) have again refused to give the Italian company Enel Green Power a majority stake in the geothermal company La Geo, despite a ruling by an international body against them.
The way that the government handles the arbitration failure at the International Chamber of Commerce on the La Geo case could dictate the success or failure of state-business partnerships.
The private-public scheme has been promoted recently by the Salvadoran government for the implementation of large public infrastructure projects because they can free the state from the significant investments that such works require.
Enel Green Power says there is room to diversify sources of energy in Central America .
Representatives of the company, which has presence in Brazil, Mexico and Chile, have shown interested in developing geothermal projects in Guatemala, where they are diversifying the development of energy sources.
Legal stability, foreign investment protection and a business friendly environment are the elements that companies such as Enel are looking for in order to bring their business to Central America.