Huemul Project - Project Cost

Project Cost

In 1948 Argentina was in a good economic position, following a large trade surplus after World War II, so economic resources were available for the Huemul Project. The amount spent is precisely known thanks to a report written by Dr. Teófilo Isnardi et al., published in 1958. After the fall of Perón's government in September 1955, opponents to Perón painted a value for the budget of the project in a wall of Richter's Laboratory No. 4 (a photograph can be seen in Mariscotti's book, see references) claiming that the total expenses were 62 million pesos (the amount stated in Isnardi's report), which at that time represented approximately $7 million, or about 140 times the amount allocated by the U.S. government soon after the Argentine announcement (Project Matterhorn, under Lyman Spitzer). A recent estimate has been published by M. Cardona et al., in their biography of Falicov (see references). They state that the total cost of the project was equivalent to $300 million in 2003 dollars.

This amount is small compared to the expenditures made by other nations in later efforts, but it is significant because it credits Argentina as the first country to give official support to a nuclear fusion program for peaceful purposes.

Today, the Huemul island with the ruins of the historic facilities (at 41°06′23″S 71°23′42″W / 41.10639°S 71.395°W / -41.10639; -71.395), can be visited by tourists. It is reached by boat from the port of Bariloche.