Ex-Mayor Federico Gutierrez, Former EPM Board, Former EPM General Manager Denounce False Accusations by Medellin Mayor Quintero on Hidroituango Tunnel-Collapse Study

Former Medellin Mayor Federico Gutierrez, Former EPM General Manager Jorge Londoño de la Cuesta and all eight former EPM Board members who resigned in protest last month for being ignored on a Hidroituango “conciliation” lawsuit decision issued a joint bulletin this morning (September 8) denouncing Medellin Mayor Daniel Quintero for falsely claiming that they had “hidden” an insurance-adjuster’s report on the Hidroituango tunnel collapse.

According to the joint letter, “the affirmations by [Mayor] Daniel Quintero and [current EPM general manager] Alvaro Guillermo Rendon are absolutely false” in suggesting that the former EPM Board, the former EPM general manager and former Mayor Gutierrez “hid” the Advanta report on the tunnel collapse — supposedly to protect Hidroituango contractors (see Medellin Herald September 7, 2020).

In fact, neither the former Board, nor the former Mayor nor the former General Manager had ever seen or ever received that Advanta report, according to their joint bulletin.

The supposedly “hidden” Advanta report “was undertaken by the insurer at its own initiative, at its own cost and for its exclusive use, seeking to obtain its own analysis of the root cause of the [tunnel collapse] problem, for which EPM [last year] facilitated access to all the technical information that they required,” according to the joint bulletin from the former EPM officials.

“The final [Advanta] report, with the results of that analysis, was NOT [their emphasis] provided to EPM, NEVER [their emphasis] was handed-over nor known by [former EPM] managers nor its Board of Directors, simply because they had no right” to obtain such report, according to the joint bulletin.

Signing the bulletin were former EPM board members Claudia Jimenez, Gabriel Richard Maya, Andres Bernal, Manuel Santiago Mejia, Elena Rico, Alberto Arroyave, Carlos Raul Yepes, Javier Genaro Gutierrez, former Medellin Mayor Federico Gutierrez and former EPM General Manager Jorge Londoño de la Cuesta.

“The decisions and the behavior of the Mayor [Quintero] and the General Manager [Rendon] are creating an environment of distress and uncertainty with unknown purposes or with veiled intentions, which is generating unimaginable damage, hopefully not irreparable, not only for EPM but also for our city and its future,” according to the bulletin.

“It’s important to mention that the only technical report contracted by EPM to establish the root cause of the [Hidroituango tunnel collapse] problem was by the Skava [engineering consultancy], whose conclusions provided the basis to present [recovery claims] arguments to the insurer [Mapfre].

“After the conclusion of the Skava report, the reinsurers, as well as Mapfre, told EPM that the damages were covered given the terms of the policy, including issues of design, construction and materials, even with the existence of possible errors. Mapfre, under these conditions and finding no evidence of grave error, made an initial payment [to EPM] of US$150 million.

“We vehemently call upon the citizenry, news media and authorities to act with prudence, with reflection, to be careful with information they receive and not be deceived, reiterating that we acted with rigor, respect for norms and in the best interest of citizens and clients of EPM,” the joint bulletin concludes.