$35 million to repair Cuenca petro pipeline, More speed radars installed, Mass Valentine’s Day marriage, Weekend activities, Bicentennial plans

Feb 1, 2020 | 0 comments

Viernes, 31/1/2020

Hola, Todos –

Actividades –
De la pagina cultural –

Galería Caza Azul – The gallery on the plazoleta de San Sebastián reopened this afternoon with a collective exhibit. The exhibit is showing the work of 6 foreign artists living in Cuenca – Alberto Soriano, Maite Eusebio, Evelyn Johnson, Sandra Doren, Lorena Duca, and Janda Grove. You can see Evelyn Johnson’s work which is inspired by daily life in Cuenca, and the other works through febrero. <There is an accompanying photo of Evelyn and Janda, so whoever wants it, please reply in the comments section and I will save the paper for you.>

Del cuerpo del periodico –

Carnaval and 160th anniversary of Paute – The contest for the Queen of Paute will be el 14/2, and the Cholita Pauteña 2020 will be elected el domingo, 16/2 a las 14:00 in the Plaza 10 de Agosto.

Mass marriages – If you want to get married on Valentine’s Day in a group ceremony, you can register at the offices of the Registro Civil in El Batán, Cuenca or call 098 223 2570 or (07) 3700 990, ext. 01434. The weddings will be in the Coliseo at the U. Católica de Cuenca a las 10:30 with national and provincial authorities present. <And I bet news media as well.> There will be special decorations and a souvenir for the newlywed couples.

The ground around the Cuenca – Guayaquil pipeline must be stabilized. (El Mercurio)

Weekend destinations –
Sábado, 1/2 – Bulán-Paute: 9:00 – Festival Colores, Aromas y Sabores (flavors) Bulán 2020 with fruit and fruit products and comida tipica; 9:30 – civic parade in the parish center; at night – a dance with the Medardo y sus Players orchestra and Gerardo Morán.
Domingo, 2/2 – Sinincay, Cuenca: 9:00 – civic-cultural parade; 14:00 – music, cultural, and gastronomic festival with music by Tierra Negra, Voces del Viento,and Los Jayac.
Domingo, 2/2 – Dug Dug-Paute: 10:00 – intercommunity indoor sports; 11:00 – intercommunity motocross; 13:00 – bullfight.

Otras cosas –

Titular – El poliducto se desploma (Collapse of polyduct) – The Terminal de Challuabamba which is one end of the Pascuales-Cuenca pipeline carrying fuels from Guayaquil to the Sierra will cost $35 million to repair. Most of the slopes and slabs holding the 6,328 cubic meter tanks are full of fissures, cracks, or have already broken and slid. The 2 spherical tanks that hold a total of 12,476,000 liters of LPG are unfit for use. In dic. de 2018, transmission of LPG was stopped for safety, but ecopaís, súper, and diesel gas are still being sent through the pipeline.

The project was built by Odebrecht. <So not only were they crooks, they were piss poor contractors as well.> The project was built on unstable sandy soil with poor compaction, and literally over a waterway. In addition, hay un pésimo drenaje (the drainage is appalling/abysmal/dreadful — your phrase for the day). Odebrecht sued the State for compensation of $184 million for unilaterally ending the contract over contractual problems. Petroecuador countersued for damages. The project was supposed to be finished in sep. of 2015 at a cost of $250 million, but wasn’t delivered until dec. of 2016 at a cost of $623 million. Petroecuador estimates that building a new terminal will cost at least $202 million. It was later found that Odebrecht paid more than $2 million in bribes to get the contract. <Well worth it for them if they were paid over $420 million in cost over runs.>

More speed radars – the Comisión de Tránsito del Ecuador (CTE – Ecuadorian Transit Commission) has installed speed radars at km. 15 on the vía Cuenca-Azogues where the pedestrian bridge that connected Nulti with Capulispamba collapsed last week. <Talk about news traveling fast here – I got a picture of the bridge laying across the freeway the night it happened and before it was in the paper.> Radars that vandals destroyed at km. 7 near the entrance to El Valle were also replaced. EMOV put radars into operation on av. Ricardo Durán y Luis Godín, the roads to Baños, in both directions to catch speeders going over 50 kph. The fine for exceeding the limit by 10 kph is $120 and for going over 60 kph, the fine is $400.

Fewer barriers for the disabled – The Concejo Cantonal de Cuenca approved an ordinance that grants benefits in terms of access to public services, elimination of architectural barriers, and payment of taxes to people with disabilities. Benefits include free handicapped parking, discounts in city housing projects, review of garbage grills, and discounts in property and other taxes. The ordinance calls for 36 months to make municipal facilities, both owned and rented, accessible. It includes installation of ramps and elevators and for EMAC to have garbage grills that don’t pose a risk to the blind. <Or to inattentive gringo newbies.>

Bicentenario de Cuenca – 6 months have passed since the start of preparations for the 200th anniversary of the Independence of Cuenca and there is still no schedule of projects nor resources. The three teams created to organize a plan for the Bicentennial are advancing at different rates. The Executive committee is currently approving projects while the special Council committee has only met once since last julio to create a Foro Autónomo (Autonomous Forum) <Kicking the can down the road to another committee.> which consists of various professionals. The 3d committee is the Junta Civica, formed of prominent people in the city. The city’s budget includes $11 million from the federal gov’t, but as of now, there is no formal promise of that money. The Bicentennial Executive Committee is now looking for international funding sources. Mayor Palacios announced in a very general manner, that there are 200 projects to celebrate the Bicentennial, however, nothing is definite. <This poor mayor can’t even plan a party.>

And that’s all for today so la Hasta la próxima semana –

Jeanne

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