The Punta Catalina-Hatillo Coal Power project involves the construction of two coal-fired plants located in the Dominican Republic. The construction work for the power plants is being carried out by the Brazilian company Odebrecht.
The population living close to the project already lacks drinking water and irrigation, and fears that the pollution from the coal plants will worsen the situation. It is feared that if the project goes forward it will threaten public health, the environment, farming and livestock in the province. A multi-country corruption scandal involving Odebrecht has also engulfed the Punta Catalina project – while the company has admitted to using corrupt practices to secure a range of construction contracts in the Dominican Republic over more than a decade, it denies having done so for Punta Catalina. Overall, the project is notorious for the sketchy information available about it and for the lack of a proper assessment of its potential harmful impacts, especially the impact it will have on climate change.