Georgia unsure about Hudoni HPP
TBILISI. Feb 11 (Interfax) - A task force has been set up to look into the construction of the Hudoni HPP on the Inguri River in Georgia with capacity of 650 megawatts, as well as the project agreement between the government and Indian company Trans Electrica Limited, the Georgian Energy and Natural Resources Ministry said in a press release.
The task force, which includes specialists from the energy sector, scientists and representatives from non-governmental organizations, has held its first meeting to discuss the Hudoni HPP project
"The final recommendations will be compiled for the end of March, after which the government will start talks with the investor," the release said.
As reported earlier Trans Electrica planned in December 2012 to initiate public discussion on a report about the environmental impact of the Hudoni HPP project, but given the opinion of the local residents and comments from various conservation organizations, it decided to conduct further research.
To build this hydro power plant, which would be the second biggest in Georgia by capacity after Inguri HPP, Trans Electrica planned to raise investment of $935 million.
Construction of Hudoni HPP in the Samegrelo-Zemo (Western Georgia) region began in 1979. Work was frozen in the post-Soviet period at the request of Georgia's Green Party.
The Georgian government and Trans Electrica signed a memorandum in 2007 stating that the Indian company would compile a new feasibility study for the project. An agreement was drafted in April 2011, according to which construction was to have begun in April 2012.
However, construction was postponed due to flooding at the construction site, caused by torrential rain. The Hudoni HPP was to be completed in 2017.
