The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is funding a €28 million loan for the upgrading and rehabilitation of the Enguri hydro power plant in northwest Georgia, EBRD announced on Wednesday.
The sovereign loan, extended to the plant's operating company Engurhesi Ltd, will finance investments to ensure the continued safe operation of the plant, increase overall electricity production, enable climate resilience upgrades and reduce CO2 emissions.
The plant is the world's second highest concrete arch dam and the largest electricity supplier in Georgia providing 40 percent of the country's electricity.
The plant, located in the Enguri river basin, significantly contributes to the country's economic development and energy security, the EBRD said.
The EBRD funds will be supported by additional grant financing of €7 million from the European Union Neighborhood Investment Facility and a technical cooperation grant of €450,000 provided by the Austrian DRIVE fund to support the establishment of a river basin-wide coordination initiative and assist Georgia in implementing EU standards, EBRD said.
The current rehabilitation included upgrades to all five units, increasing the plant's operational capacity to a total of 1,320 megawatts.
Beginning in 1998, the EBRD financed the first three phases of the plant's rehabilitation with financing of €60 million.
As part of its first three rehabilitation phases, the EBRD also financed the introduction of modernized technology to expand the plant's capacity, which has also allowed Georgia to reduce its dependence on electricity from fossil fuels and from the imports of natural gas.
'Since the early days of Georgia's independence, the EBRD has consistently supported the upgrade of the Enguri hydro power plant to increase its efficiency and help to provide a reliable, affordable and sustainable source of clean energy for the country,' Bruno Balvanera, EBRD director for the Caucasus, Moldova and Belarus was quoted as saying.
By Huseyin Erdogan
Anadolu Agency
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