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Brazil's Odebrecht says accepts Ecuador's terms

Wed Oct 1, 2008 5:46pm EDT

SAO PAULO, Oct 1 (Reuters) - Brazilian construction company Odebrecht said on Wednesday it accepted terms set by the Ecuadorean government to resolve a dispute over a faulty hydroelectric plant.

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Ecuador expelled the firm last week and sent troops to seize $800 million worth of projects, including an airport, two hydroelectric plants and a rural irrigation project.

Ecuador's President, Rafael Correa, accused the company of having badly built a dam, which was completed last year, but is not functioning because of damaged machinery.

The company agreed to pay for repairs to the dam and to extend a guarantee on the project by one year and on the repairs by five years, it said in a statement on Wednesday.

Odebrecht would also make a deposit of $43.8 million until an independent international audit decided whether it owed further penalties, the statement said.

The company had previously informed Ecuador of its decision.

Correa said on Tuesday in Brazil's Amazon city Manaus that he would decide in coming days on Odebrecht's response, but that the company was still banned from the Andean country.

"Our decision remains. Odebrecht is out of the country," Correa said, after a meeting with his counterparts from Brazil, Bolivia and Venezuela.

"We are not negotiating, we are demanding justice and the country's rights to be respected."

Last week, Correa threatened to not pay back a $200 million loan from Brazil linked to Odebrecht. (Reporting by Raymond Colitt; additional reporting by Fernando Exman; Editing by Andre Grenon)



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