IDB lends US$ 150 million to Peru hydropower plant

The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) has lent US$ 150 million to Brazil construction company Odebrecht to support the construction of a 406 MW hydroelectric plant in Peru.

Odebrecht subsidiary Empresa de Generación Huallaga will use the loan to build the Hidroeléctrica de Chaglla project, which would be the country´s second largest hydropower power facility, representing about 13% of Peru's installed hydropower capacity once construction is completed by 2016.

The hydropower plant will be located on the Huallaga River in the Chaglla and Chinchao districts in the Peruvian district of Huánuco, and the IDB loan will also help finance the construction of related infrastructure, including a transmission line linking the plant to the national electricity grid, access roads and other ancillary facilities. The total cost of the project is US$ 1.2 billion.

Odebrecht said it would also implement a professional training program for local communities in areas related to civil construction - an effort to give employment priority for the Hidroeléctrica de Chaglla project to local communities that lack qualified labour.

The news comes just days after Odebrecht dropped plans to build a 1278 MW dam on the Tambo River in the Peruvian Amazon in the wake of protests from indigenous people.