SAN LUIS, Ecuador – Built near an erupting volcano, it was the largest infrastructure project ever undertaken in this country, a concrete giant financed by Chinese cash and so important to Beijing that China’s leader, Xi JinpingSpoke at the 2016 inauguration.
Today, thousands of cracks have emerged at the $2.7 billion Coca Codo Sinclair hydroelectric power plant, government engineers said, adding that Ecuador’s biggest source of power could break down. At the same time, the mountain slopes of the Coca River are being eroded, threatening to damage the dam.