EBRD allocates about $200m for Georgia’s Nenskra Hydro Power Plant

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is teaming up with Georgian state-owned shareholding company Partnership Fund (PF) to provide significant financial support to the Nenskra Hydro Power Plant (HPP) project, earmarked for the upper Svaneti region.

EBRD President Sir Suma Chakrabarti announced this news today at the EBRD 24^th Annual Meeting in Tbilisi. He said the EBRD was ready to take part in funding the Nenskra HPP, which is estimated to cost about $1 billion USD total.

"The hydro power sector is one of the priorities for us. We took the decision to fund the Nenskra HPP project,” said Chakrabarti.

EBRD will allocate about $200 million USD for the Nenksra HPP project.

Last year Korean company K Water and PF representatives signed an agreement to launch the development and construction works at the 280 megawatt power station.

PF Executive Director Irakli Kovzanadze believed the electricity generated by the Nenskra HPP would be distributed to the local market. In autumn and winter the HPP would support the local energy market to replace imports of electricity. 

Nenskra HPP will be constructed on the Nenskra river in Upper Svaneti, a mountain region of Georgia.

The HPP is expected to produce 1.2 billion kilowatts of electricity per year. The project is planned to be completed by 2019.

"We have been actively working with K Water to assure EBRD to get involved in this project. I am glad the EBRD made a very positive decision for us. In addition, the Asian Development Bank and Export-Import Bank of Korea will finance the project,” said Kovzanadze.

Global development institution International Finance Corporation (IFC), which is a member of the World Bank Group, has been assisting the PF to create an investment project of the Nenskra Hydro Power Plant.