Brazil Hydro Plant Workers on Strike, Barricade Roads

Workers at a hydroelectric power plant under construction in northern Brazil are striking, the group responsible for building the project said in an e-mailed statement today.

The group, Norte Energia SA, didn’t say how many people have walked off the job at the Belo Monte plant in Altamira. The workers have barricaded a road lead to the construction site, preventing vehicles from reaching the plant.

The power plant, one of country’s biggest electricity projects, will have as much as 11,233 megawatts of capacity, according to Norte Energia, which is backed by Centrais Eletricas Brasileiras SA (ELET6), Neoenergia SA, Cemig Geracao e Transmissao SA, Light SA (LIGT3), Vale SA (VALE3) and pension funds.

Norte Energia said they are seeking judicial measures to end the strike. Nobody at the workers’ union was immediately available to comment.

To contact the reporter on this story: Mario Sergio Lima in Brasilia Newsroom at mlima11@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Dale Crofts at dcrofts@bloomberg.net