EBRD will help finance a 115M euro project for nine hydro power plants in Bulgaria
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) will invest 75 million euro in the construction of nine small hydro power plants on the Iskar River, Dnevnik daily reported on April 26 2010.The total cost of the project amounts to 115 million euro.The facilities will be built in the Svoge and Mezdra municipalities. The contract was formulated between the EBRD and the Svoge hydro power plant.Two facilities are already completed, one at Svrajen and the other at Lakatnik, as part of phase one, the report said."We have achieved very positive results, by having them operational and linked to the grid. At the time of a global economic downturn, we are hoping on continued co-operation with EBRD over the next few years," Sergio Bortolotti, president of Petrolvilla Group, said after the documents were signed.Petrolvilla owns 90 per cent of the Svoge plant, while the remaining 10 per cent belong to the municipality.The project's total cost is estimated at 115 million euro. All nine hydro power plants will be constructed by the end of 2014. The combined output capacity will be 25.6MW with an annual output of about 145 million kWh, Dnevnik said.The investment will create 500 jobs over the next five years.