EDB to Invest $99.8 Million in Large Energy Project in Belarus

Almaty, 8 November 2010. The Eurasian Development Bank (EDB) will provide $99.8 million for a project to construct Polotskaya Hydraulic Power Plant in Belarus. A loan agreement to this end was signed between the EDB and Vitebskenergo last Wednesday in Minsk.

Under this project, a hydraulic power plant with an installed capacity of 21.75 MW will be built on the West Dvina river. The annual output of this plant will total 112 million KW/h. The total project cost is $142.7 million, including a 10-year EDB facility of $99.8 million. The guarantor under the loan agreement is the government of Belarus.

The project is being implemented by Vitebskenergo, the country’s major supplier of electricity (up to 40%).

Tekhnopromeksport of Russia was selected as general contractor; this is a leading world construction company specialising in power plants.

The EDB’s facility is a target loan which will be used to finance the hydraulic complex of the Polotskaya plant including design, construction, equipment and spare part, assembly, pre-commissioning, testing, commissioning and personnel training.

The purpose of the project is to reduce the energy intensity of GDP and to enhance national energy security by inclusion of local renewable resources into the country’s energy balance.

Furthermore, the project will allow the cost of power generation to be cut down and about 35,100 tonnes of fossil fuel to be saved annually.