It is all this movement that worries Maria do Céu, inhabitant of Ribeira de Pena.
“They need to eat, they need to go shopping, they touch things and then we go behind and we also play,” he says, adding that “there are many Spaniards and Brazilians out there without any control”. This local doesn’t understand “Why Iberdrola doesn’t stop, when the whole country was forced to stop”, fearing that “lack of control” could harm the health of the locals.
Domingos Fernandes is also “apprehensive” about the continuation of works on the Alto Tâmega dams. “This is a powder keg. The Spaniards come here with their country on fire and may come and set ours on fire, ”says the inhabitant, concerned about his health and that of his own.
Domingos says he does not understand the “lack of inertia of the political leaders who are waiting for this to scream to take action”, because “if there are many cases of infection in Spain, it is normal that when they come here they can transport new cases ”.
By the same tuning fork, Cristina Ribeiro refines, fearing that “since Spain is worse than us, they, when they go there for the weekend, may bring the virus without knowing it and infect someone”. “It is nothing against the Spaniards, because they are also concerned, but poor people, they are forced to work to earn their bread”, says Ricardo Silva.
For this inhabitant of Ribeira de Pena, who has a son on the construction site, “the best solution for everyone would be to stop work until the virus subsides”. “My son is in anguish. He comes home and takes refuge in his room, because he is afraid of being contaminated and contaminating his children ”, he tells Renaissance, stressing that “you just don’t leave because you need your job”.
“It is a misery in life to have to take risks to feed the children and run the risk of catching the disease and passing it on to the family”, He concludes.
Iberdrola guarantees that contingency plan is being fulfilled in the Tâmega dams
THE Renaissance confronted Iberdrola with the demand of the municipality and the population of Ribeira de Pena to suspend the works, justifying the measure with the presence of a large number of foreign workers, namely Spaniards, who work on the construction site and go home at the weekend. .
The electric company realizes that “Is attentive, sensitive and reactive to all events and developments related to this pandemic” and, in this sense, he guarantees, “it has acted in strict compliance with all guidelines issued by the competent Public Entities, following and implementing the declaration of the State of National emergency determined under the Decree of the President of the Republic no. 14-A / 2020, of March 18 ”.
Iberdrola also recalls that the declaration of a state of emergency states “that operators and other economic players must proceed, respecting the contingencies and restrictions that are publicly known, with the development of economic activity within possible normality, provided that compliance with and implementation of safety and health prevention measures, as determined by the competent Health Authorities, is guaranteed ”.
The Spanish company guarantees that its contingency plan, to deal with the pandemic in the scope of the works of the Tâmega Electroproducer System (SET), is in line with the guidelines of the DGS, the World Health Organization and the European Center for Prevention and Disease Control.
“Each of the companies contracted to carry out the work simultaneously prepared a similar contingency plan. There is daily coordination between Iberdrola and the said executing entities, in order to guarantee the safety conditions of the employees ”, says the Spanish electric company in response to the Renaissance, adding that “So far there is no positive case of Covid-19” registered in the project.
“Project of national interest”
According to Iberdrola, “This is a project of national interest, but which also currently fulfills an important purpose in the functioning of the local economy ”.
“We are aware of the current risks, but we also know that we are up to our responsibilities and, at this moment, we believe that all actions must be guided by the necessary consideration, reflection and balance”, he maintains.
The company guarantees that it also recommended “all workers in the population centers where they are located, that limit social contact inside and outside the work area”, prohibited “visits or face-to-face meetings with external entities and reduced the presence of staff to the minimum. internal meetings ”.
According to the Spanish electric company, “the concentration of workers in the work fronts, in the displacements within the works and in the common areas was reduced””And not just in cafeterias.
“Disinfection routines in common areas” were established and “points for washing and disinfecting hands” were increased.
Iberdrola affirms that it is committed to “encourage, as has always been the case up to now, the strict compliance with all security measures and the use of individual and collective protection equipment by all workers who live on the construction site ”and guarantees that he will“ comply with all orders received from the competent Public Authorities due to the matter ”, not revealing the number of workers currently in the works.
The Tâmega Electro-Producer System is one of the largest hydroelectric projects carried out in Europe in the last 25 years. The complex consists of three dams and three hydroelectric plants. Two of the dams will be located on the Tâmega River (Daivões and Alto Tâmega) and the third on the Torno River (Gouvães). The total investment of the work is 1,500 million euros.
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