EBRD to finance 280 MW hydropower project in Georgia

Subscribe to our newsletter and get the latest news and business opportunities in your inbox
EBRD to finance 280 MW hydropower project in Georgia

This article is part of a daily series of IPP articles. If you want to know more about the latest power generation projects globally visit our IPP Today section. You can receive them by email on a daily basis.

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has approved financing for the Nenskra Hydropower Plant project. A senior secured loan of up to US$214 million will finance the development and construction of a 280 MW hydropower plant, the largest HPP constructed in the recent history of independent Georgia.

The Nenskra plant will be constructed in the Nenskra and Nakra river valleys, which are located in the municipality of Mestia, in the Svaneti region, north-west Georgia. The plant will generate approximately 1,200 GWh of electricity annually, which will be fully consumed by the Georgian market. This will reduce greenhouse gas emissions, secure the country's energy supply and significantly decrease energy import in winter time.

The EBRD has also agreed to invest US$15 million equity into JSC Nenskra Hydro, the Nenskra HPP project company. Other shareholders are K-Water (also called Korea Water Resources Corporation) and the Georgian state-owned JSC Partnership Fund.

The company will construct a 130m-high dam on the upper Nenskra River, which will create a live storage of about 176 million m³ and a reservoir area at full supply level of 2.67km². It will capture the flows of Nenskra river and the adjacent Nakra river. A weir on the Nakra river, 8.7m high and 44m long, will divert the Nakra water currents through a 12.5km-long transfer tunnel into the Nenskra reservoir.

The company will also construct a 15.1km tunnel to connect the penstock upstream to a power station, which will house three vertical Pelton turbines of 93.333 MW capacity each, for a total installed capacity of 280 MW.

Construction is scheduled to commence this year. Completion is planned for 2021, though the plant will start producing electricity in 2020

The project is being implemented under a Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) framework. JSC Nenskra Hydro will transfer ownership to the state 36 years after the plant is commissioned. 

The developers are currently undertaking preparatory works in the Nenskra Valley, as well as works within the framework of the Community Investment Program. This was designed to contribute to the sustainable development of the Nenskra and Nakra Valleys, through for example investing in the development of small and medium-sized enterprises locally and skills training of community members.

Georgia suffers serious energy shortages in winter, due to its heavy reliance on hydropower. This is the second recent announcement of financial backing by the EBRD to support efforts to address this. In January, the bank announced financing for the rehabilitation of the 1320 MW Enguri dam, also in the north-west. 

Share this news

Join us

In order to get full access to News section, you must have a full subscription. You can check all the benefits of becoming a member and purchase a subscription on our membership page.