Ecuador to concession hydroelectric plant

The Government of Ecuador will concession the Central Sopladora hydroelectric project, which started operations on August 25th.

The winning company will be in charge of the project for a concession period of 30 years. According to sources, there are already firms interested in the project. However, neither the name of the firms or the schedule for the procurement process have been disclosed.

In August 2010, the consortium formed by China Gezhouba - Fopeca was awarded the contract to carry out the Sopladora hydropower project.

In October 2011, China-based Exim Bank acted as lender, providing a financing package of US$571 million to develop the hydropower project. The project had a total investment of US$755 million.

The Sopladora hydropower project has 487 MW of installed capacity. The three turbines of the project will generate 2800 GWh/year and connected with the national grid will provide 13% of the whole country energy requirements.