Advertised as "the project of the century", the construction of the Portezuelo del Viento dam (in Mendoza) has been criticized by broad sectors of the Pampas society because of the impact it will have on the Colorado River (shared by five provinces). They fear that history will repeat itself, similar to when the Atuel River, which was dammed by Mendoza, led to drought, displacement and poverty in the western part of the Pampas. They warn of a possible social, economic and environmental disaster. A 2017 Supreme Court ruling remains incomplete.
In July 2019, President Mauricio Macri signed decree 519/2019, whereby the national government takes full responsibility for the US$1.023 billion construction of the Portezuelo del Viento dam on the Rio Grande in the province of Malargüe. This was in agreement with - the then governor - Alfredo Cornejo, who defined it as "the project of the century".
This is a huge undertaking, with a concrete wall of 180 meters, thousands of hectares of land will be flooded (the entire town of Villa Las Loicas will be flooded) and the layout of the national highway 145 and the provincial highway 226 will have to be changed. It will be necessary to relocate Villa Las Loicas and all the areas that will be flooded by the reservoir. The government claims that this will provide energy to 130 thousand people. Other critics warn that the energy produced by the dam could be used for multinational mining companies (who have dozens of projects in Mendoza).
