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Ethiopia: contract signed for Beles

VA TECH HYDRO, one of the world´s leading suppliers of hydropower plant equipment and services, has signed the contract for the hydropower plant BELES in Ethiopia. The order was placed by the civil company SALINI COSTRUTTORI S.P.A, the turnkey supplier of this plant.
The project owner is the Ethiopian state utility ´Ethiopian Electric Power Corporation´ (EEPCO). The contract value for VA TECH HYDRO is approx. 70 million Euro. The hydropower plant at the Beles river will be installed in a cavern located in the north-west of Ethiopia near to the Lake Tana.

The scope of supply of this 460 MW project includes model test, design, manufacturing, transport, installation and commissioning of the complete electromechanical equipment including four vertical Francis turbines, digital type governors, generators and electrical and mechanical balance of plant. The start of commercial operation is scheduled for 2008.

Beles will be the largest hydropower station in Ethiopia and is one of the first plants feeding the planned 400 kV grid for long distance transmission. The country has enormous potential for hydro generation. The gross theoretical potential is the second largest in Africa after the Republic of Congo. Currently more than 90% of the generated electric power is based on hydropower. Up to now only about 20% of the more than 75 million people in Ethiopia have had access to electricity. Electricity consumption has increased within the last seven years by more than 60% underlining the high importance of this project.

For VA TECH HYDRO this it is a further milestone in their co-operation with EEPCO lasting since the 1960´s.


Additional information: http://www.vatech-hydro.at/view.php3?f_id=15336&LNG=EN&nl=1
News date: 15/05/2006

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