Mexico City, Mexico — President Andrés Manuel López Obrador acknowledges the increase in his Dos Bocas Refinery project costing much more than planned. AMLO said that the increase is due to equipment required which was not considered during the initial planning stage.
“There was an increase in the case of the (Dos Bocas) Refinery because the equipment that was needed was not originally contemplated and the budget was expanded,” he explained during his August 30 morning press conference from the National Palace.
He said that the additional costs are ligament and not due to corruption or personal gain.
His comments came after a recent report that the refinery could cost as much as $16 to $18 billion USD, more than double the initial planned budget of $8 billion. While part of the increased costs have been blamed on necessary equipment “not contemplated”, other increases have been blamed on inflation.
The Ministry of Energy is in charge of the Dos Bocas Refinery project. Once completed, the Ministry of Finance and Pemex will take over the administration of the new refinery, which will be added to the other seven that it has.
