The Government of Georgia is considering the construction of large energy projects with the participation of the state. The Prime Minister of the country said in April that "Namakhvani", "Nenskra" and "Khudoni" should be built only with the participation of the state.
The government has already redeemed the "Khudoni" project from the investor, which cost USD 13.5 million.
The Khudoni project provided the construction of a HPP in the upper part of Enguri in Mestia Municipality. Its installed capacity was 702 mgwt, and the annual production of electricity was supposed to be 1.5 billion kWh. The investment was about USD 1 billion. The project was to be implemented by the Indian company "Transelectric".
Regarding the "Nenskra HPP" project, the Prime Minister announced at the government meeting early this month that a memorandum on "Nenskra HPP" project has been signed with the investor company K-Water and the construction will resume in 2024 at the latest.
The main investor of the Nenskra hydroelectric power plant project is Korean Water Resources Corporation K-Water. It holds a 91.9% stake in Nenskra Hydro, while the 8.1% shareholder is the "Partnership Fund". The total investment of the 280-mgwt hydroelectric power plant is USD 1 billion, after its completion, it should generate 1.2 billion kwh of electricity.
As for "Namakhvani HPP", the Turkish company "ENKA Renewables LLC " was building the "Namakhvani" hydroelectric power station in Rioni Valley. After the protest of the population, the construction was stopped. The Prime Minister said that the project would not be implemented in its current form. The government also declared a moratorium and banned the construction of the ENKA dam for several months. A few months after that, the investor informed the government about the termination of the contract, citing force majeure and violation of the contract terms on the part of the government as the basis. Now ENKA is suing the Georgian government in international arbitration.
Last week, the Minister of Economy, Levan Davitashvili told us that European investors are showing interest in Namakhvani HPP project.
BMG asked the Deputy Minister of Finance, Giorgi Kakauridze, whether the relevant financial funds are included in the 2024 budget draft for the projects of large hydroelectric power plants where the state is considering participation.
"Research is currently underway in the Khudoni part. None of the large HPPs will be built with the participation of the state in 2024, where the state should be potentially a participant", Giorgi Kakauridze said.
