The first unit of the US$2.3B Caruachi hydroelectric plant in Venezuela has begun operation with a 180MW capacity. When fully operational in late 2005, the facility will have a total installed capacity of 2160MW, adding an anticipated annual power output of 13,300GWh to the national grid.
Owned, designed and construction managed by C.V.G. – Electrificación del Caroní, the facility is located about 35km upstream from the confluence of the Caroni and Oronoco rivers in southeastern Venezuela.
Assistance and technical support in the design and preparation of tender documents, construction drawings, cost estimates, bid evaluation and construction management services for the development of this project was provided by MWH.
The Caruachi facility includes a 12-unit power house, a main concrete gravity dam, a rockfill closure dam, a spillway, two transition dams and a reservoir as well as a comprehensive environmental management plan and a study on integrated management of the Caroní river watershed.
The Caruachi project is the third phase of CVG-EDELCA’s multi-decade Lower Caroni River Hydroelectric Development Programme, an effort to generate an estimated 17M kW of energy for the economic and industrial development of the Guayana region and to provide and substantially meet the electric demand for the entire nation.