Preparatory works, include building a tunnel to divert river water and access roads, construction of a camp and a quarry, will be taken up this year.
The $350m power plant is expected to begin operations in 2014.
This will the first of the three hydroelectric power plants which were planned to be built on the Patuca River, following a memorandum of understanding signed between the Honduran government and Sinohydro last year.
Sinohydro will secure funding from Chinese banks to fund the construction of the three power plants, which will have total generating capacity of 524 MW.
The new power plants are part of the Honduran government’s renewable energy program, through which it plans to reduce the nation’s dependence on thermal energy plants.
Thermal energy plants account for 60% nation’s 1,400 MW of installed generating capacity, according to laht.com.
