Salini Impregilo selected as contractor in $1 bln Georgian HPP project
TBILISI. July 21 (Interfax) - Korea Water Resources Corporation (K Water) from South Korea, the operator of the Nenskra Hydropower Plant (HPP) construction project in Georgia chose Italy's Salini Impregilo as general construction contractor, the press service of the Georgian State JSC Partnership Fund said.
K Water and Salini Impregilo have signed the corresponding contract.
The Nenskra HPP, with a total capacity of 280 MW and annual electricity generation capacity of 1.2 billion kWh, is planned to be built on the Nenskra River in the Svaneti region in the north west of the country.
The main goal of the HPP is to fix the electricity deficit which Georgia experiences during the winter and to export surpluses to neighboring countries.
According to the contract, Salini Impregilo will start construction on the HPP at the end of summer this year. It is planned to start generating electricity from 2019, and to be completely finished in 2021.
Partnership Fund and K Water plan to raise $700 million in project financing of the estimated $1 billion total from international banks. The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, which intends to lend $200 million, the Asian Development Bank and South Korea's Eximbank have expressed readiness to take part in this project.
Construction of the HPP on the Nenskra River, the largest tributary of the Inguri, was planned to begin back in 2012. The Chinese company Sinohydro Group Limited was supposed to carry out the project but the project was scrapped and the contract with the Chinese company was dissolved.
Salini Impregilo is an industrial group which oversees work on large infrastructure projects in the electricity, transport traffic, civil and industrial construction spheres. The company operates in more than 50 countries.
