Colbún's Angostura Dam Project (A)

The A case describes Colbún Chile’s plans for the Angostura dam in the Bío Bío River, a hydroelectric construction venture with major challenges given the region’s history of indigenous resistance. This context was especially unfavorable given the highly contentious process surrounding the earlier development of the Ralco dam project by the Chilean subsidiary of Endesa. Ralco was upstream from Angostura’s proposed location on the river and was only built at the cost of severe opposition and controversy, which led to the cancelation of four additional upstream dams that had been planned by Endesa.

Bernardo Larraín, the CEO of Colbún, sought to learn from these past experiences in order to design a project that would couple hydroelectric generation with opportunities for the local communities. He sought to set the stage for reaching successful agreements with the families earmarked for resettlement as a result of Angostura and deal with other likely opposition.

The B case describes Colbún’s approach, subsequent events, and the outcome of the Angostura project.