Next June 4th expires the deadline for the company Consorcio de Autopistas de Guatemala (Convía) to work and incorporate a series of readjustments to the Definitive Engineering Study (EDI), so that it is approved and the reconstruction and reconstruction works can begin. rehabilitation of the Escuintla-Puerto Quetzal Highway (AEPQ).
This was established in an official notification made on April 10, by the members of the National Council of Alliances for the Development of Economic Infrastructure (Conadie), which by law is chaired by the Minister of Finance, Jonathan Menkos Zeissig, it was known yesterday in a summons in the Congress of the Republic in which the status of the contract of the first public-private alliance (PPP) approved in Guatemala was explained.
During the meeting, it was learned that the members of Conadie did not find causes for early termination and non-compliance due to temporary nature, despite the fact that the EDI has been rejected on three occasions by the contracting entity, which in this case is the General Directorate of Roads. (DGC), a department of the Ministry of Communications, Infrastructure and Housing (CIV).
The deadlines are running
According to the schedule presented yesterday, what was resolved by Conadie on April 10 includes a period of 55 days to make adjustments to the EDI; 14 days were assigned so that the CIV could rule on the EDI and finally, another 20 days were granted to comply with what is indicated in clause 36 of the contract approved by Congress in 2021, which obliges Convía to comply with all the requirements before starting construction of the work, such as financial closing, the establishment of a trust and various types of licenses.
In the summons with the VOS bench it was also announced that the notification was endorsed by Menkos Zeissig, as president of Conadie; Antonio Romero, Vice Minister of Economy; Luis Ayala Vargas, Vice Minister of Energy and Mines; Enrique Maldonado, undersecretary of Segeplán; and Francis Garnica, executive director of the National Competitiveness Program.
In addition to Manuel Alfredo Rivera, representative of the Coordinating Committee of Agricultural, Commercial, Industrial and Financial Associations (Cacif), and Luis Castellanos, of the Guatemalan Chamber of Construction. So it was unanimous.
Objection and justification
Deputy Orlando Blanco indicated in the summons that there may be indications that Convía is being favored with the granting of a new term, which, in his opinion, is no longer appropriate, so the early termination of the contract should be declared. the AEPQ.
To this, Kevyn Valencia, acting executive director of Anadie, responded that there is no fourth delivery of EDI, since according to a resolution of Conadie, in accordance with Annex 11 of the contract, a cause for early termination was not established.
He recalled that as soon as the final engineering study was delivered, the technicians carried out the corresponding analysis of the provisions it contained; It is presented again and orders are issued again. Then the government transition occurred, and from there the CIV requested the file to verify compliance with the contract (including annex 11) to avoid any type of controversy or lawsuit against the State of Guatemala.
Later, Anadie issued a technical-legal analysis that resolved that there is no cause for early termination of the contract, as Conadie had already recognized.
Readjustments and scenarios
Valencia stressed that, since there is no early termination of the contract, what is being carried out is a readjustment to the considerations raised by the State contractor, which is the DGC, and from this readjustment, the design, construction, maintenance and The operation is transferred to the winner of the award (Convía) and specific guidelines are provided to enforce them.
In his opinion, everything is interpreted according to the traditional construction, which is different from a PPP: “there are many edges of erroneous interpretations about this type of contracts, since they are not seeing it from a public-private alliance perspective, but rather as a traditional work and it is not like that.”
By June 4, then, the new delivery of the EDI by Convía would be expected, with the readjustments requested by Conadie based on the contract, to make the corresponding decision and which may consist of any of these options:
- The EDI complies with the commitments of the CIV under the PPP perspective and is approved, therefore the start of works is authorized.
- The EDI is rejected because it does not meet all the requirements and the contract is terminated early.
We seek consensus
When consulting Sandro Testelli, president of Marhnos Guatemala (which is part of Convía), he confirmed that the new date to deliver the EDI is June 4, and in principle the issue of the technical process is being reactivated in coordination with the CIV.
“There is a possibility of delivering the observations and recommendations received by the CIV within the last statement and establishing coordination for the possible start of the construction process in the coming months,” he noted.
Regarding the adjustments, he stressed that in general terms, it is a specific review of some specific areas, but that it is not about anything substantive and “it will be an orderly and consensual process to be able to reach agreements that will allow us to have the minutes of the start of construction.”
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