Financial Close Process Completed
Korea Water Resources Corp. (K-Water) announced on Dec. 16 that it has started to execute the Tina River Hydropower Project in the Solomon Islands after wrapping up the financial close process with the local government and financial institutions in Honiara, the capital of the country in the South Pacific on Dec. 12.
K-Water said it has met all prerequisites for withdrawing investment from financial institutions, including strict environmental and social impact assessments by financial institutions such as the World Bank, compensations for land, and about 100 licenses and permits.
The Tina River Hydropower Project involves the construction and operation of a dam and a hydroelectric power plant in the Solomon Islands with a total project cost of US$211 million. In particular, Korean companies are in charge of design, construction, operation and management. Hyundai Engineering will design and build the power plant while K-Water will run and manage it for the next 30 years.
The Solomon Islands generates power with diesel fuel, which the country has to import from abroad. As a result, electric power charges are very high. The completion of the Tina River Hydroelectric Power Project is expected to cut electricity rates to less than half of the current level.