Construction of Nenskra HPP begins in Georgia

Construction of a billion dollar Hydro-Electric Power Plant (HPP) has begun in Georgia’s northwest.

Parties involved in the development and construction works signed a special agreement today, signaling the launch of the 280 megawatt Nenskra Hydro-Electric Power Plant (HPP), worth $1 billion USD.

The construction phase of the project is due to end sometime in 2021 however the Nenskra HPP, earmarked for the Svaneti region, will start producing electricity from 2019. The HPP is expected to annually produce 1.2 billion kilowatts of electricity per hour.

The HPP is projected … to replace imported electricity during the winter months. This will improve the sustainability of our country’s energy system and energy independence,” said Georgia’s Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili.

"This is the first time Georgia is building such large scale HPP since its independence,” he stressed.

The Korea Water Resources Corporation (K Water) is one of the project’s major investors, while the construction works will be carried out by the Italian industrial group Salini Impregilo.

Today the sides agreed and signed a special agreement that outlined all the technical, financial and legal details of the project.

The Nenskra HPP construction will be based on a Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) structure, according to which the investor is obliged to build the HPP, operate it for 35 years then transfer ownership of the HPP to the state.

Meanwhile, nine HPPs have been built in Georgia recently that collectively produced 157 megawatts of energy.

Recently construction work ended at the 237 megawatt Combined Cycle Thermal Power Plant (TPP) in Gardabani.

As of today 16 HPPs are under construction on Georgian territory.

From 2012 until now about $400 million USD has been invested into Georgia’s energy sector through Foreign Direct Investments (FDIs).