The development, construction and operation of a 531 MW runof-river hydroelectric power plant approximately 50 kilometers east of Santiago, the capital of Chile. The Project will be a key generation facility for Chile and reduce electricity costs as well as greenhouse gas emissions in the country’s central interconnected grid, a system that has become increasingly reliant on coal and diesel generation plants.

The Project has been screened as Category A because potential impacts are diverse and potentially irreversible. In addition to impacts and risks associated with large construction and civil works (e.g., noise, dust, traffic, vehicle and equipment emissions, solid and hazardous waste management, and occupational health and safety), environmental concerns are related to tunneling activities such as noise, vibration and waste rock disposal; impacts on water quality due to construction works in river channels and contaminated run-off from waste rock piles; and potential impacts on terrestrial and aquatic biodiversity during construction and on aquatic biodiversity during operation as a result of reduced or diverted flow. Occupational health and safety risks associated with tunneling, such as the potential for cave-ins and collapse, and degraded air quality.

As of March 2020, the UN Committee on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights (CESCR) is reviewing the impacts of the Alto Maipo Hydroelectric Project, which has put Chileans’ fundamental rights at risk. These include the rights to water, food, housing, health, and culture. Communities claim that they have never been adequately consulted, despite the fact that the project has jeopardized the environment in the area where they live and violated fundamental human rights for many years, raising grave concerns about the project’s impacts for more than a decade.

http://www.ciel.org/news/un-body-calls-out-alto-maipo-hydroelectric-project-for-negative-impacts-on-chileans-economic-social-and-cultural-rights/

Loan, up to $250 million with a term of up to 20 years

Borrower: Alto Maipo SpA, owned by AES Gener (60%) and Antofagasta Minerals S.A., AMSA (40%)

US Sponsor: AES Gener S.A. (Chile), a subsidiary of AES Corporation (Virginia, USA)

Foreign Sponsor: Antofagasta plc. (UK), through Antofagasta Minerals S.A.(Chile), a wholly-owned subsidiary

ACCESS TO INFORMATION

Unlike many other development finance institutions, DFC does not currently have an access to information policy.

Under the United States Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), DFC is obliged to respond to reasonably formulated requests for Agency records. However, DFC may apply exemptions from release to certain types of information and may charge fees in responding to requests. DFC has a designated FOIA officer who is trained in how to respond to requests and implement the law. You can learn more about filing a FOIA request at: https://www.dfc.gov/foia.

ACCOUNTABILITY MECHANISM OF THE UNITED STATES INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT FINANCE CORPORATION (DFC)

The Office of Accountability is an independent office that addresses complaints about environmental or social issues related to DFC-supported projects. The office provides communities an opportunity to have concerns independently reviewed and addressed. If you submit a complaint to the Office of Accountability, it may assist you by either seeking to address your problems by facilitating a problem solving dialogue between you and those implementing the project and/or investigating whether the DFC complied with its policies to prevent environmental, social, human rights, and labor harms. 

You can find more information about the Office of Accountability at: https://www.dfc.gov/who-we-are/office-accountability.