Chinese firm to build biggest hydropower project in Ecuador

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2009-10-06 13:33

QUITO: Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa on Monday signed a contract with representatives of China's Sinohydro corporation to build a 2-billion-US-dollar hydroelectric project in the country.

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The Coca-Codo-Sinclair hydroelectric project, to be built along the Ecuadorian Amazon river and some 75 km from the capital city of Quito, has a total capacity of 1,500 megawatts and annual output of 8.8 billion kilowatts. It will be the biggest hydropower project in Ecuador, capable of meeting 75 percent of the country's power supply.

The project also includes the construction of a dam to use the waters from Coca River, a machine house and an 24 km-long underground tunnel.

The Export-Import Bank of China, which will cover 85 percent of the project's total cost, with the remaining 15 percent covered by the Ecuadorian government.

Correa said that the launching of this project would be a historical event as it represents one of the biggest foreign investments in Ecuador.

This project will create about 4,000 direct jobs and 15,000 indirect jobs in Ecuador, he added.