RusHydro to sign deal with RUSAL on Boguchany electricity sales
MOSCOW. Feb 4 (Interfax) - RusHydro will build a commitment for aluminum giant UC RUSAL to buy electricity generated by the Boguchany hydro-plant into a shareholders agreement with RUSAL on the BEMO project to build an integrated HPP and smelter, George Rizhinashvili, RusHydro strategy director, told reporters at the Troika Dialog forum in Moscow.
In the event the Boguchany smelter is not up and running in 2012, RusHydro wants guarantees that RUSAL will buy electricity generated by the Boguchany hydro plant for its Taishet smelter, for example, the first stage of which is due to be commissioned in 2011-2012, Rizhinashvili said.
He also said RusHydro expected to sign the amended shareholder agreement with RUSAL late February or early March, and that the partners might share responsibility for building the hydroplant and smelter.
The companies are currently carrying the project out by the two-key principle, funding the construction of the HPP and the smelter on parity terms.
Rizhinashvili also said RusHydro expected that Vnesheconombank (VEB) would reach a decision regarding project financing for the BEMO complex by the end of March.
He also said a pool of banks that RusHydro is working with might provide project financing, but he did not name the banks.
RUSAL and RusHydro are building a 3,000-megawatt hydro-plant and a 588,000 tpy smelter, which will cost $1.45 billion and $1.43 billion, respectively.