Announcement of Seven Million Four Hundred Thousand Dollar Credit to Bolivia for Power on April 23, 1969

• INTERNATIONAL DEVELOP]MENT ASSOCIATION 1818 H STREET. N.W., WASHINGTON D.'C. 20433 TELEPHONE: EXECUTIVE 3-6360 IDA Press Release No. 69/14 Subject: $7.4 million credit to April 23, 1969 Bolivia for power A credit of $7.4 million to Bolivia from the International Development Asso- ciation (IDA) wil~ support the continued expansion of electric power facilities to provide a system adequate to meet the rising demand, particularly from manJ- facturing industries. In 1964 Bolivia received two IDA credits, totaling $15 million, for elect~lr. power projects which increased generating capacity by 38 megawatts and eliminaced the power shortage then existing. Since the credits were granted, Bolivia has • made considerable progress in organizing a modern power sector. This includes the establishment of Empresa Nacional de Electricidad S .A. (ENDE) as a govertlJTle'l!.- owned company responsible for the generation and transmission of power in the areas of Cochabamba-Oruro in the center of the c~untry, Santa Cruz in the eastern lowlands, and Sucre-Potosi to the south. The Direccion Nacional de Electricidad (DINE) has also been set up to regulate the industry, includi,ng power rates, throughout the country. The new credit will help finance the Santa Isabel plant, the largest sing.I ..~ project in ENDE's expansion program for 1969-72. This program also includes facilities in Santa Cruz now being built with financial assistance from the U.S. Agency for International Development, and in Sucre-Potosi for which the Inter-American Development Bank is considering a loan, and studies looking to future development. Santa Isabel will supply power to Cochabamba, the nation'A • second largest city, and to the Oruro-Catavi district where many mines a.n\ cated and where the systems of ENDE and the Bolivi~n Power Company, Limit~<l interconnected. /more J .., .. ~~P, IDA P.R. No. 69/14 - Bolivia-Power • - 2 - The project consists of a 34-MW hydroelectric plant using ~ailrace water from the Corani plant, which was partially financed by an earlier IDA credit, a four-mile transmission line to connect at the Corani substation to the exist- ing power system, and e~gineering services. The credit includes funds for con- sultants' services for DINE to provide specialized assistance, for a limited period, in the carrying out of its regulatory functions. The Santa Isabel project is scheduled for completion in early 1972 at a total estimated cost equivalent to $10.5 million. The IDA credit will cover the foreign exchange costs; the local costs will be met from ENDE's own resources. The IDA credit to the Republic of Bolivia will be for a term of 50 years, including a 10-year grace period. It will be free of interest, but a service charge of 3/4 of 1% will be made to cover IDA's administrative costs.~ The • Govermnent will relend $7.34 million of the credit to ENDE for a period of 30 years, including four years of grace, with interest at 6-1/2%. The Govern- ment will relend $60,000 to DINE for consultants' services. - 0 - •