Jalisco, Mexico - On November 6, 2012, Mexico's President Felipe Calderón inaugurated the 'La Yesca' Hydroelectric Plant, located on the border between Jalisco and Nayarit, one of this administration’s main infrastructure projects.

As one of the world's largest dams, "La Yesca," renamed Ing. Alfredo Elías Ayub, will support a 750 MW hydroelectric power station and is part of the Hydroelectric System Santiago. Its construction, which began in 2007, will improve the regulation of water flow and subsequently power generation downstream at the El Cajón and Aguamilpa Dams.

The Santiago River, which lies 90 km (56 mi) northwest of Guadalajara, Jalisco, has been used to generate electricity since the construction of the Agua Prieta station made it possible to begin utilizing the river’s energy potential.

The president remarked that in order to undertake the project, the course of the river was diverted, which required the construction of two tunnels, each 14 meters high and 800 meters long, and a sluice gate with a 208 meter concrete face was built, making it the second largest of its kind in the world. The size of the project required the creation of a community to house all of the workers who participated in this Mexican engineering feat.

Benefits of the Ingeniero Alfredo Elías Ayub Dam include the generation of electricity required for the progress of the country. It will contribute 750 Megawatts to the national electricity system and generate an average of 1,210 Gigawatts/hour a year.

The Hydroelectric Plant will also provide environmental benefits, since by generating clean energy, it will prevent the emission of 800,000 tons of carbon dioxide annually, equivalent to burning 21,000 barrels of oil a year.

Its construction provided economic and social benefits for the region by creating 5,300 direct and another 16,000 indirect jobs. A total of 250 kilometers of roads were built or restored in the municipalities of Hostotipaquillo, Tequila and La Yesca, which now have modern infrastructure for their development.

In addition, a health clinic was built in the municipal capital of Hostotipaquillo and the CFE electrified 18 rural localities with a total of 3,610 inhabitants. Building infrastructure for this community has involved a Federal Government investment of approx. 700 million pesos.