Macedonia Says To Get 1.3 Bln Euro from China Development Bank for Hydro Power Project

SKOPJE (Macedonia), April 12 (SeeNews) – Macedonia said state-owned China Development Bank will lend 1.275 billion euro ($1.84 billion) for the construction of 12 hydro power plants on the local Vardar river.

The government in Skopje will chip in the remainder of the financing for the project which amounts to 225 million euro, the Macedonian cabinet said in a statement issued after the signing of a memorandum of understanding on Monday.

The agreement was signed in Skopje by Macedonian officials and representatives of the China Development Bank and the state-owned China International Water and Electric Corp.

The agreement calls for the drafting a feasibility study for the Vardar Valley project over the next 12 to 18 months, the statement said.

The Vardar Valley hydro power project envisages the construction of the hydro power plants along a 200-kilometre stretch of the river from the capital of Skopje up to the Greek border, the statement said.

The hydro power plants will have a total capacity of 300-350 megawatts (MW) and a combined average output of 1,000-1,400 gigawatthours per year. The project is expected to take between 12 and 15 years to implement, the statement said.

China International Water and Electric Corp. built the 80 MW Kozjak hydro power plant, in western Macedonia, which was brought on stream in 2009.

($-0.6952 euro)

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