Ecuador's President Rafael Correa has ordered the armed forces to take control of the San Francisco hydroelectric plant and has called for the expulsion of its operator, Brazilian engineering company Odebrecht.
Correa's actions aim to "prevent an energy crisis in the country and internal unrest that could arise from power outages," according to a copy of the executive decree.
Brazil's government is providing protection to Odebrecht, Brazil's state news agency Agência Brasil reported.
"This issue will be discussed in coming days and we hope it can be resolved," Brazil's foreign affairs minister Celso Amorim said from New York.
As part of the decree, Ecuador's government will take over other Odebrecht assets including hydro projects Toachi-Pilatón and Baba. The government also will prevent four top Odebrecht executives from leaving the country.
But according to the minister, two Brazilian businessmen already have left Ecuador and two are in the Brazilian embassy, Agência Brasil reported, without naming the individuals.
Ecuador's government in August threatened to expel Odebrecht, which it has accused of mismanagement at the 230MW San Francisco plant. Odebrecht partners in the plant are Alstom and Va Tech Hydro Brasil.
Ecuador's government alleges that shoddy work and structural problems left San Francisco inoperable for several months, threatening the country's power supply. The Odebrecht consortium refused to compensate the state for the problem, according to the decree.
However, the consortium said in August it had 299 staff members and specialized teams working with on the problems "24 hours a day, seven days a week" with the aim of restarting normal operations by October 4.
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