LA PAZ, Sept. 11 (Xinhua) -- Bolivia's state electricity company, ENDE, signed on Monday a contract with Chinese firm Sinohydro to build the Ivirizu hydroelectric dam.
In a ceremony in the department of Cochabamba, attended by President Evo Morales, the contract was signed, allowing Sinohydro to build the dam itself with an investment of 172 million U.S. dollars.
Future stages of construction will involve the construction of tunnels and access paths to the dam, as well as the installation of machinery.
Morales, in his speech, pointed out how Ivirizu would help Bolivia to become an energy center in South America and encouraged Sinohydro to meet the deadlines it had set.
The Minister of Energy, Rafael Alarcon, said that Sinohydro had won the contract for the dam construction on the second tender and that ENDE would be tasked with overseeing the substation and transmission lines linked to the dam.
He added that the Central Bank of Bolivia (BCB) had extended a loan worth 549.9 million U.S. dollars for the project.
The Ivirizu hydroelectric dam will be built over four years and is expected to have a full capacity of 279.9 megawatts.
