The Estreito plant forms part of the Brazilian government’s program for the acceleration of growth and will reportedly benefit from favorable finance conditions under this program.
The Estreito project is being built by a consortium formed by Suez Energy International with a 40.07% stake, Vale with 30%, Alcoa with 25.49% and Camargo Correa with a 4.4% interest. Total investment in the project is expected to be E1.2 billion and the contract with Banco Nacional de Desenvolvimento Economico e Social will provide Suez, E380 million or 80% of its total investment costs.
The Estreito concession was acquired by Suez and its partners in 2002. The plant is located on the Tocantins river, between the states of Tocantins and Maranhao, downstream from the Sao Salvador 243MW hydro project, which is also constructed by Suez, and the Cana Brava 45MW hydro plant, owned by Tractebel Energia, Suez Energy International’s subsidiary in Brazil.
Suez has already sold its stake of 256MW guaranteed energy output from the plant at the Brazilian power auctions in October 2007, in the form of 30-year term power purchase agreements with distribution companies, starting from 2012. These contracts are reportedly worth E3.3 billion.
