Wednesday, September 30 2015 17:57

ArmInfo. International energy company ContourGlobal Hydro Cascade will invest more than Euro 50 million in rehabilitation of the Vorotan Hydropower Cascade.  This project represents the largest single U.S. private investment in Armenia's economy and the first such kind of investment in Armenia's energy sector. This has been announced during an international conference confined to signing of an agreement between Armenian Government and ContourGlobal on the acquisition of the assets of the Vorotan hydroelectric facility, a series of three individual power plants (Tatev, Shamb and Spandaryan). The International Finance Corporation ("IFC") has acquired a 20% interest in ContourGlobal Hydro Cascade to help acquire, operate, and rehabilitate the Vorotan Hydropower Cascade. 

ContourGlobal will invest in the program over the next six years through HSBC Bank Armenia and Ameriabank. The investments will be made in a refurbishment program to modernize the plants and improve their operational performance, safety, reliability and efficiency.  ContourGlobal expects the modernization to create 150 near-term jobs in addition to the 150 long-term technicians employed at the plants.

Mr. Yervand Zakharyan, the Armenian Minister of Energy and Natural Resources, stated, "We are confident that ContourGlobal will successfully own, maintain and operate this important power complex and are gratified by ContourGlobal's planned investment, which will improve the stability, security and performance of the Armenian power system for many years to come."

Joseph Brandt, Chief Executive Officer of ContourGlobal, stated that the company is committed to being an effective partner for the Republic of Armenia. "We are very pleased to announce the closing of the Vorotan transaction and that IFC will join us as an equity partner. We thank the Government for the trust they have placed in us and look forward to making a significant and lasting contribution to a key part of the country's infrastructure. We also are very pleased to build upon our nearly decade-long cooperation with the IFC investing together in development projects across the globe."

To note, ContourGlobal is an international power-generation company with approximately 4000 MW in operations or under construction in 20 countries on four continents. ContourGlobal's 1650 employees manage, own and operate a portfolio of 58 power plants utilizing a wide range of fuel types and technologies including renewable energy production based upon hydro-electric, wind, solar and biomass, as well as an extensive fleet of conventionally powered thermal power plants.  In Central and Eastern Europe, ContourGlobal currently owns and operates approximately 1220 MW of power generation businesses in Austria, Italy, Bulgaria, Ukraine, Romania and Poland.

To recall, the property of the Vorotan Cascade of HPPs (Armenia) has been sold to Contour Global (U.S.) for USD 182 million in June.  "Vorotan Cascade of HPPs" CJSC, which was a 100% state-run company before the deal, comprises three hydro-power plants (Tatev, Shamb and Spandaryan) with a total capacity of 404.2MW on the River Vorotan and its tributaries. The designed capacity of the Cascade is 1.16 bln kWh electric power per annum. 

Electric power generation in Armenia in Jan-Aug 2015 grew by 3.5% versus the same period of 2014 and totaled 5 106.3 million kWh, the National Statistical Service of Armenia reports. The growth for August alone was 13.9%. In Jan-Aug 2015, the thermal power plants decreased electric power output by 9.1% to 1 484 mln kWh. The hydropower plants increased generation by 10.7% to 1 593.4 million kWh. The Armenian Nuclear Power Plant increased the output by 9.1% to 2 026.6 million kWh.