Announcement of World Bank Approves Three Hundred Fifty-Nine Million Dollars Loan to Colombia for Guavio Power Project : Loan the Largest Ever for a Latin American Country on June 1, 1981

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE .world Bank 1818 H Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20433, U.S.A.• Telephone: (202) 477-1234 BANK NEWS RELEASE NO. 81/109 June 1, 1981 WORLD BANK APPROVES $359 MILLION LOAN TO COLOMBIA FOR GUAVIO POWER PROJECT Loan the Largest Ever for a Latin American Country The World Bank has approved a $359 mi11ion loan to Colombia to assist the construction of the Guavio power plant, the largest hydroelectric facility to be built in the country. This Joan is the largest ever to be made by the World Bank to a Latin American country. The Guavio facility will be constructed with a 950 million cubic meter reservoir on the Guavio rive~ some 70 kilometers east of Bogotf. The plant will have an initial capacity of 1,000 megawatts (MW) to be installed under the project and a final capacf:; of 1,600 MW by the end of the century. In addition to increasing the supply of renewable energy, the Guavio Hydro Power Project will provide 15% of the electricity needed in Colombia by 1988, thereby helping to provide electricity service to a larger segment of Colombia's • population, only 54% of which now have access to it. A substantial part of the Guavio plant's output wi 11 serve the city of Bogota and its environs, with the bal- ance going to the national system through the lnterconexion Ele"ctrica, S.A.'s (ISA) network. With an estimated total cost of $1,303 million, the project includes a rock- fill dam on the Guavio river, tunnels to conduct the waters of the Chivor and Batatas rivers into the Guavio reservoir, underground works, a 230 kilovolt (kV) step-up substation at Guavio, two double-circuit 230 kV transmission lines to Bogota, and four 230 kV line bays at the Bogota230 kV ring. The project will be carried out by the Empresa de Energ(a EJ~trica de Bogota (EEEB) ,an autonomous company owned by the Municipality of the Special District of Bogota. EEEB provides electricity to about 580,000 customers in Bogotcf and to some 55 municipalities in the nearby departments of Cundinamarca and Meta. The project also includes the construction of a regional load dispatch and telecommunications center, a study to assist in adequately protecting the environ- ment of the Guavio river, and a training program to enhance the expertise of EEEB's technical staff. Local costs of the project will be covered by EEEB ($225 million) and ISA ($150 million). Foreign costs will be financed by commercial banks ($340 million), suppliers' credits ($129 million), the Inter-American Development Bank ($100 million), and the World Bank ($359 million). • NOTE: Money figures are expressed in U.S. dollar equivalents. I ...  -2- Since 1950, the World Bank has supported Colombia's power sector with 26 ~ loans totalling $1,015 million. Bank loans have assisted the expansion of generat- ing capacity, and transmission and distribution facilities in the sy,tems serv- ing Bogota, Medellin, Cali, Cartagena~ Bucaramanga, and Manizales, including ex- pansion of electricity distribution to low-income areas. A recently approved loan will support rural village electrification in the North Atlantic region. EEEB has received five previous World Bank loans, totalling $256.6 mill Ion. The $359 million loan was made to EEEB with the guarantee of the Republic of Colombia. It has a term of 17 years, including 4 years of grace, with interest at 9.6% per annum. -o- • • FOAM NO. '1121 (5--76') I T ECHNI CAL DAT A • PROJECT: COUNTRY: TOTAL COST: Guavio Hydro Power Colombia $1,303 million BANK FINANCING: $359 million for a term of 17 years, including 4 years of grace, at 9.6% interest per annum OTHER FINANCING: Empresa de Ene'J(a Electrica de Bogota, $225 mi 11 ion; ln- terconexion Electrica, S.A., $150 million; Commercial bank's co-financing, $340 miliion; Suppliers' credits, $129 million; and Inter- American Development Bank, $100 million. IMPLEMENTING ORGANIZATION: Empresa de Energia Electrica de Begot~ (EEEB) Apartado Aereo 4453 Ca 11 e 13 No . 37- 35 Telex: 44-242 Bogota, Colombia Cable: ENERGIA PROJECT DESCRIPTION: It comprises: (a) construction of the Guavio hydroelectric plant with a 950 million cubic meter useful capacity reservoir, including: (1) a rockfill dam on the Guavio river (with impervious core) • and spillway tunnels;· (2) tunnels to conduct the waters of the Chivor and Batatas rivers into the Guavio reservoir; (3) a pressure tunnel, and underground power house (with 5 units of 200 megawatts each), tail race tunnel, and transformer cavern; (4) a 230 kilovolt (kV) step-up substation at Guavio and four 230 kV line bays at the Bogota 230 kV ring; and (5) two double-circuit 230 kV transmission lines to Bogota; (b) con- struction of a load-dispatch and telecommunication center to function as a regional ~atellite of the national dispatch center; (c) consulting services, and (d) a train- ing program for EEEB's technical staff. PROCUREMENT: All the items to be financed by the loan (except consulting services) will be procured by international competitive bid- ding under Bank guidelines. Colombian manufacturers wi11 receive a margin of preference of 15% of the c. i.f. price or the applicable import duties, whichever is the lower, for purposes of bid evaluation. CONSULTANTS: About 32,050 man-months of consultant services at various levels of skill for design and engineering supervision will be required. ~ ECONOMIC RATE OF RETURN: 15% ESTIMATED COMPLETION DATE: 1987 - 0 -