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Viewing cable 06LAPAZ83, GOB SETTLES INVESTMENT DISPUTE INVOLVING BECHTEL

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Reference ID Created Released Classification Origin
06LAPAZ83 2006-01-13 20:05 2011-08-25 00:00 UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY Embassy La Paz
VZCZCXYZ0000
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHLP #0083/01 0132005
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 132005Z JAN 06
FM AMEMBASSY LA PAZ
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 7702
INFO RUEHAC/AMEMBASSY ASUNCION 5506
RUEHBO/AMEMBASSY BOGOTA 2770
RUEHBR/AMEMBASSY BRASILIA 6636
RUEHBU/AMEMBASSY BUENOS AIRES 3853
RUEHCV/AMEMBASSY CARACAS 1218
RUEHPE/AMEMBASSY LIMA 1110
RUEHME/AMEMBASSY MEXICO 1635
RUEHMN/AMEMBASSY MONTEVIDEO 3478
RUEHQT/AMEMBASSY QUITO 3856
RUEHSG/AMEMBASSY SANTIAGO 8371
RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHINGTON DC
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHINGTON DC
UNCLAS LA PAZ 000083 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR WHA/AND LPETRONI 
COMMERCE FOR JANGLIN 
TREASURY FOR SGOOCH 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: EINV ETRD ECON PGOV BL
SUBJECT: GOB SETTLES INVESTMENT DISPUTE INVOLVING BECHTEL 
 
1. (U) Summary: The legal chapter of the 2000 Cochabamba 
"water war" has come to a close, with the GOB and two 
international shareholders (one of them half owned by U.S. 
engineering multinational Bechtel) settling their 
long-festering investment dispute.  Under the agreement, the 
GOB will purchase - for a total of USD 25 cents - eighty 
percent of the shares in Aguas del Tunari, the joint venture 
company selected to manage the Cochabamba water concession 
(and whose assets were allegedly expropriated by the GOB), 
and assume the company's liabilities.  The settlement averts 
a possible ruling against the GOB in a case before the 
International Center for the Settlement of Investment 
Disputes (ICSID) and suggests that the threat of arbitration 
is less leverage in Bolivia than it might seem.  End summary. 
 
---------- 
BACKGROUND 
---------- 
 
2. (U) In April 1999, the GOB issued a tender to improve 
water and wastewater services for Cochabamba's 600,000 
residents, many of whom lacked piped water or effective 
sanitation services.  Two foreign investors, International 
Water Limited, a firm half-owned by U.S. engineering and 
construction multinational Bechtel, and Abengoa, a Spanish 
construction company, pursued the tender, forming a joint 
venture company called Aguas del Tunari.  The two 
international investors owned 55 and 25 percent of the 
shares, respectively, with four Bolivian firms accounting for 
the remaining 20 percent. 
 
3. (U) Aguas del Tunari won the bid, and in painstaking 
contract negotiations, secured GOB acquiescence to a 35 
percent average hike in unit rates for water and sewerage 
services, effective January 1, 2000.  According to the agreed 
tariff structure, low-income residents would pay only 10 
percent more, while the largest hikes (106 percent) would be 
reserved for high-volume users. 
 
4. (U) Aguas del Tunari began operating Cochabamba's water 
and wastewater system in November 1999, increasing water 
supply by 30 percent in its first two months through repairs 
to the city's existing network.  Improved supply and 
availability led residents to use significantly more water, 
which meant many incurred substantially higher bills. 
 
5. (U) In mid-January 2000, the rate hikes began to fuel 
opposition to the contract.  Several civic groups began 
demonstrating in early February, and protests then spread 
across the country.  The GOB dispatched military personnel in 
early April to attempt to quell the unrest, but additional 
violence erupted.  In the course of several protests, six 
Bolivians were killed.  Aguas del Tunari discontinued 
operations, and the GOB cancelled the contract. 
 
6. (U) In May 2000, Aguas del Tunari suggested that the GOB 
negotiate an amicable settlement of the company's claims for 
compensation, estimating the value of assets allegedly 
expropriated by the GOB at USD 25 million.  After 17 months 
of fruitless discussions, Aguas del Tunari filed a request 
for arbitration with the International Center for the 
Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID), a World-Bank 
affiliated body with jurisdiction over the case by virtue of 
a bilateral investment treaty between Bolivia and the 
Netherlands, where the company's majority shareholder, 
International Water Limited, is registered. 
 
7.  (SBU) Comment: Many see these developments, broadly 
referred to as the Cochabamba "water war," as the opening 
volley of a gathering popular revolt against Bolivia's 
so-called neo-liberal economic model.  In this view, the 
MAS's decisive victory in the December elections represents 
the culmination, or at least the latest accomplishment, of 
this powerful social movement.  End comment. 
 
-------------- 
THE SETTLEMENT 
-------------- 
 
8. (SBU) While waiting for ICSID to determine whether it 
would reject GOB objections to its jurisdiction and review 
the case, Aguas del Tunari's international shareholders 
continued settlement negotiations with GOB officials. 
Michael Curtin, President of Aguas del Tunari and a Bechtel 
consultant to International Water Limited, told us the GOB 
agreed in mid-December 2005 to purchase - for a total of two 
bolivianos, or USD 25 cents - the shares held by 
International Water and Abengoa.  In so doing, the GOB will 
acquire 80 percent ownership of Aguas del Tunari and avert a 
possible negative arbitral finding in the ICSID case.  As 
both defendant and (as Aguas del Tunari's new owner) 
claimant, the GOB can now simply cancel the arbitration.  The 
settlement agreement also freed the two international 
shareholders of any and all liabilities relating to the case. 
 
9. (SBU) Putting a positive spin on the deal, Curtin told 
Econoff January 10 that all sides win in the agreement: 
President Rodriguez and President-Elect Morales can say they 
avoided arbitration and saved Bolivia a potential USD 25 
million negative arbitral finding, and the two international 
shareholders can relinquish any remaining liabilities and 
extricate themselves from a longstanding investment dispute. 
Curtin said the investors hope to sign the settlement 
agreement before January 22, when the new administration 
takes office. 
 
------- 
COMMENT 
------- 
 
10. (SBU) While resolving a long-festering problem is a 
definite plus for all sides, the significance of the deal for 
investors in Bolivia is ambiguous at best.  Aguas del Tunari 
negotiators appear to have decided that accepting a 
settlement now is better than trying to retrieve a USD 25 
million investment in protracted arbitration negotiations 
from a government whose future willingness and ability to pay 
up is in doubt.  The case suggests that arbitration is less 
leverage in Bolivia than it might seem - a lesson that 
hydrocarbons companies, seven of which have sent arbitration 
trigger letters to the GOB, are likely to view with concern. 
GREENLEE