Argentina’s government approved the construction of two hydroelectric dams in the southern Patagonia region province of Santa Cruz, after holding public hearings as required by the Supreme Court, according to a notice in the Official Gazette on Monday.
The construction of the Nestor Kirchner and Jorge Cepernic dams in Santa Cruz, Patagonia is finally set to begin now that China has deposited the first 287.7 million dollars tranche of funding for the massive 4.71 billion project, Argentine President Cristina Fernández announced before leaving for a state visit to China.
Argentina signed deals on Friday to borrow 7.5 billion dollars from China at a time when Buenos Aires cannot access global capital markets because of disputes over unpaid debt. Beijing also extended a three-year agreement for an 11bn swap operation between the central banks of Argentina and China.