Japan bank drops Odebrecht deal

 THE FALL OUT linked to the Brazilian construction giant Odebrecht, is hitting  the company in many quarters from canceled contracts, to credit rating down grading, The Japanese bank Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation  is the latest to back away. 

It has withdrawn $250 million in financing for the project to dredge the Magdalena River in Colombia.

The project was granted to the consortium Navelena, in which Odebrecht controls 87 percent of the shares.

The decision was reported on Wednesday, Feb 1 by El Tiempo de Bogotá, which said that the consortium negotiated the transfer of the contract with companies of

Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim “to obtain the respective resources before Feb. 22.”

According to the Regional Autonomous Corporation of the Rio Grande de la Magdalena, the funds will be provided by Goldman Sachs.

The Autonomous Regional Corporation of the Rio Grande de la Magdalena has the objective of dredging the Magdalena River so that it its waters can be navigated. The river crosses 18 of the 32 regions of Colombia.

If the funds were not obtained from other sources, the contract would have been cancelled.