VZCZCXYZ0000
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHSJ #0210/01 0440006
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 130005Z FEB 10
FM AMEMBASSY SAN JOSE
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 0381
INFO WHA CENTRAL AMERICAN COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS SAN JOSE 000210 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
DEPT FOR WHA/EPSC FDOWDY AND FACORNEILLE, EEB/ESC/IEC/EPC MMCMANUS AND JDUGGAN, WHA/CEN JVANTRUMP 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ECON ENRG ECIN PREL PGOV CS SENV
SUBJECT: SIEPAC: December 2011 Is Earliest Completion Date for Costa 
Rican Portion 
 
REF: 2009 SAN JOSE 747 
 
¶1.  SUMMARY (U) Network Business Owner (EPR), the transmission line 
owner of the Electricity Interconnection System for Central America 
(SIEPAC), estimates completion of the last segment of the Costa 
Rican portion in December 2011.  The schedule is contingent upon 
resolving acquisition problems in a Central Pacific segment of the 
SIEPAC right-of-way.  An advocacy group consisting of AmCit and 
Canadian investors and local townsfolk are resisting acquisition 
attempts due to anticipated hydrological and rain forest damages 
that transmission line construction would cause.  The group filed 
suit and the case is now in the turgid Costa Rican court system. 
We anticipate that the completion deadline will slip into early 
¶2012.  End summary. 
 
 
 
----------------------------------------- 
 
STAGGERED SCHEDULE FOR SEGMENT COMPLETION 
 
----------------------------------------- 
 
 
 
¶2.  (SBU) CEO Pedro Pablo Quiros of Costa Rica's government-owned 
electricity company (ICE) shared with us on January 13 the 
timetable for Costa Rica's completion of its segment. The Costa 
Rican 493 km portion of SIEPAC consists of five segments, all with 
differing completion dates: 
 
 
 
Segments (North to South) 
 
Completion Date 
 
Nicaragua border - Ca????as 
 
May 2010 
 
Ca????as - Parrita 
 
July 2010 
 
Parrita - Palmar Norte 
 
December 2011 
 
Palmar Norte - R????o Claro 
 
November 2010 
 
R????o Claro Costa Rica - Panam???? border 
 
February 2010 
 
 
 
---------------------------- 
 
DIFFICULT ACQUISITION HURDLE 
 
---------------------------- 
 
 
 
¶3.  (SBU) The third segment, Parrita to Palmar Norte (the "Central 
Pacific" region of Costa Rica), will take the longest to construct 
due to the right-of-way acquisition process.  ICE has 
responsibility for acquiring the needed property and/ or easements. 
The problematic section of the third segment is a 27 km stretch in 
the vicinity of Portal????n and Matapalo.  ICE projects completing 
the 
right-of-way acquisition by May 2010; however, anticipated delays 
caused by a court injunction due to appeals of precautionary 
rulings regarding a route change could push the completion date for 
right-of-way acquisition to late 2010 (reftel). 
 
 
 
-------------------------------------- 
 
AMCITS ARGUE FOR INVESTMENT PROTECTION 
 
-------------------------------------- 
 
 
¶4.  (U) A U.S. investor has led an active advocacy campaign to 
re-route the SIEPAC transmission line in the Portal????n - Matapalo 
area.  In order to block ICE from establishing an easement through 
his land, he compiled environmental reports and supporters for 
re-routing the SIEPAC line.  The advocacy campaign maintains that 
the current route will negatively impact water resources, intrude 
into a primary tropical rain forest, and disrupt a fragile 
ecosystem.  Supporters of his position include the Ministry of 
Environment, Energy, and Telecommunications and the National System 
of Conservation Areas (SINAC). 
 
 
 
¶5.  (U) The most recent court action consisted of a ruling 
rejecting the re-routing of the SIEPAC line but attached 
development conditions on the construction of the transmission 
line.  The judge stipulated that ICE must  narrow the transmission 
line easement from 30 meters to 15 meters, camouflage the 
transmission towers, and construct the line by hand; no tractors or 
heavy equipment are permitted.  The length of the easement is 2.5 
kilometers.  The landowner appealed the decision.  On a parallel 
track, a Canadian investor affected by the SIEPAC route plans to 
meet with Inter American Development Bank loan officers and explain 
how ICE's actions violate the terms of the SIEPAC loan financing, 
which included avoiding tropical rain forest and sensitive 
watersheds. 
 
 
 
¶6.  (U) The U.S. landowner makes the point that there are several 
other American landowners affected by the SIEPAC route, but they 
have not been as vocal since they lack the resources to process a 
legal case.  The landowner firmly believes that ICE is waging a war 
of attrition with him (and local area residents) and alleges 
improprieties conducted by ICE. 
 
 
 
¶7.  (U) Given the highly contentious nature of the case and the 
turgid nature of the Costa Rican legal system, we would expect the 
final date of completion of the SIEPAC line through Costa Rica to 
slip into 2012. 
ANDREW