The Garabi-Panambi Hydroelectric Complex on the Uruguay River has been projected to generate 2,200 MW of electric power, which Argentina and Brazil would share equally.

[1] The Garabí and Panambí dams would be built in the Corrientes and Misiones provinces of Argentina, and the Garruchos and Alecrim municipalities of Rio Grande do Sul in Brazil.

[2] Environmentalists are opposed to the project, citing the massive floods of the Madeira River after construction of the Jirau and Santo Antônio dams in Rondônia.

Eletrobras has guaranteed that the Yucumã Falls, the largest longitudinal waterfall in the world, and the Turvo State Park would be preserved, but there was fear that 10% would be flooded by the Panambi reservoir.

[4] In 1973 an agreement was made between Agua y Energía Eléctrica (AyE) of Argentina and ELETROBRAS of Brazil to study the potential of the middle section of the Uruguay and its tributary the Pepirí-Guazú.

A hydroelectric complex with dams at San Pedro, Garabí and Roncador-Panambí was considered most suitable, and the results of initial technical and economic studies were presented in 1977.

[6] Planning for the Garabí Hydroelectric Project was restarted in 1996 but was handicapped by economic crises in both countries and growing resistance by civil society movements due to the environmental and social impact.

[7] In November 2007 the Brazilian head of state Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and his Argentinian counterpart Cristina Fernández de Kirchner agreed to prioritize construction of the Garabí binational dam.

In November 2009 the presidents signed an agreement to form a joint international company to supervise construction, operation and maintenance of the Garabí Binational Hydroelectric Complex.

[5] In mid-2013 Eletrobras held a public meeting sponsored by the Council for Economic and Social Development to discuss the proposed Garabi and Panambí hydroelectric plants.

[3] On 7 April 2014 the Eletrobras director of generation told the mayors of the region in which the Garabi and Panambí hydroelectric plants were being studied that the dams would be built only if they improved the lives of the local people.

The main issue was that the reservoir would flood 60 hectares (150 acres) of the Turvo State Park, which holds regionally threatened flora and fauna, some at risk of extinction.