MRS on Iran-financed Hydro Plant

Submitted by fyl on 14 March, 2008 - 15:31.
Yesterday, Edmundo Jarquin, political coordinator for the MRS issued a statement regarding the proposed hydro plant in RAAN that would be financed by Iran. The entire statement is at the bottom of this post in Spanish.

Mundo poses an interesting question in point #4. Paraphrasing, he is asking that if Nicaragua is borrowing the money from Iran to build the plant, why will the plant be owned by a company in Iran? Seems like a good question.

Declaración de Mundo Jarquín, Coordinador Político de la Alianza MRS, sobre préstamo de Irán

Managua, 13 de Marzo de 2008

  1. Por los medios de comunicación los nicaragüenses hemos sido informados de un préstamo que Irán haría a Nicaragua por $231 millones de dólares. El objetivo del préstamo sería la construcción de la central hidroeléctrica Boboke, en Región Autónoma del Atlántico Norte (RAAN), de 70 megawats de potencia.
  2. Desde luego, damos la bienvenida a cualquier iniciativa que ensanche la capacidad de generación de energía y, a la vez, ayude a transformar la matriz energética del país tan excesivamente dependiente del petróleo. Sin embargo, de la información que hasta ahora ha sido proporcionada sobre el referido préstamo, surgen algunas interrogantes que deben ser esclarecidas por las autoridades.
  3. En primer lugar, llama la atención que un proyecto como el mencionado, que solamente es amortizable a largo plazo, se esté financiando con un préstamo a 10 años plazo y a una tasa de interés del 5%. Ese plazo es menos de la mitad de los plazos a los cuales los organismos financieros multilaterales (como el Banco Mundial y el BID, por ejemplo) financian esa clase de proyectos. Por otra parte, el 5% es casi el doble de la tasa de interés a la cual Nicaragua accede al financiamiento de esos organismos.
  4. Además las autoridades del Ministerio de Energía y Minas han informado que la central hidroeléctrica de Boboke, se construirá y será propiedad de una empresa de Irán. Si esto es así, las autoridades deberían explicar los procedimientos y el amparo legal bajo el cual se ha hecho esa asignación, y, sobre todo, explicar porqué si una empresa de Irán será la propietaria del proyecto, el mismo se financiará con un préstamo al gobierno de Nicaragua y no a la empresa en cuestión.
  5. En el Consejo Político de la Alianza MRS de esta tarde me propongo plantear las anteriores inquietudes, a fin de que nuestra Bancada solicite la comparecencia de las autoridades gubernamentales ante la Comisión Económica de la Asamblea Nacional para que presenten las explicaciones del caso.
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Spanish to English

Submitted by wmac on 18 March, 2008 - 00:33.

Spanish to English Translation using Yahoo (which seems better than google to me):

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Declaration of Jarquín World, Political Coordinator of the Alliance MRS, on loan of Iran Managua, 13 of March of 2008

1. By mass media the Nicaraguans we have been informed into a loan that Iran would do to Nicaragua by $231 million dollars. The objective of the loan would be the construction of the hydroelectric power station Boboke, in Independent Region of Atlántico Norte (RAAN), of 70 megawats of power.

2. Of course, we give the welcome to any initiative that widens the capacity of energy generation and, simultaneously, helps to so excessively transform the first energetics of the country employee of petroleum. Nevertheless, from the information that until now has been provided on the referred loan, some questions arise that must be clarified by the authorities.

3. First of all, it draws attention that a project like the mentioned one, that is only amortizable long term, is financing with a loan to 10 years term and an interest rate of 5%. That term is less than half of the terms to which the multilateral financial organisms (like the World Bank and the I.A.D.B., for example) finance that class of projects. On the other hand, 5% are almost the double of the interest rate to which Nicaragua accedes to the financing of those organisms.

4. In addition the authorities to the Ministry of Energy and Mines have informed that the hydroelectric power station of Boboke, will be constructed and been property of a company of Iran. If this is thus, the authorities would have to explain the procedures and the legal shelter under which that allocation has become, and, mainly, to explain because if a company of Iran will be the proprietor of the project, the same will finance with a loan to the government of Nicaragua and not to the company at issue.

5. In the Political Council of the Alliance MRS of this behind schedule I set out to raise the previous restlessness, in order that our Large stone bench asks for the appearance of the governmental authorities before the Economic Commission of the National Assembly so that they present/display the explanations of the case.

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By the way, there has been serious critics inside Iran on government investments in other countries. People ask when we are struggling for energy, why government has invested billions of dollars in other countries (in some unstable African countries, in some South and central American countries and also in some Asian countries like Iraq, Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Armenia, ...)

(Iran has energy problems, especially electrical and gas due to the huge increase of industry, business and domestic needs in recent years)