BIZCHINA / Biz News
ADB funds Gansu hydropower program
(Xinhua)
Updated: 2006-12-19 19:50
BEIJING -- The Asian Development Bank (ADB) will help provide cleaner and
more reliable energy in northwest China's Gansu province by lending up to
50 million U.S. dollars to support two medium-sized hydropower projects
in the remote, impoverished area near Zhangye City.
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ADB's China office said on Tuesday that the loan would help finance
construction of a 50.5 megawatt power plant in Erlongshan and a 60 MW
power plant in Dagushan, part of the Heihe river hydropower development
scheme, which began construction in 1996.
The scheme involves seven medium-sized hydropower plants that together
will produce 645.5 MW of hydropower, said the ADB.
Two power plants are already in operation and two more will be in
operation by next year, one of which--the 102 MW power plant in
Xiaogushan--was funded by ADB.
With more than 80 percent of Gansu's electricity produced by coal-fired
power plants, 13 of the province's 14 cities fail to meet air quality
standards.
According to the ADB, Lanzhou is on the list of the 50 most polluted
Chinese cities. Not only is air pollution in Gansu dire, some parts of
the province, such as the Hexi corridor, suffer from chronic power
shortages.
"The project, an integral part of the provincial government's plan to
expand power generation at low cost, will help alleviate power shortages
in Zhangye and the Hexi corridor," says Ashok Bhargava, an ADB Senior
Energy Specialist.
On completion, the project will economize about 1 million tons of coal
per year. It is expected to be eligible for certified emission reductions
under the Clean Development Mechanism, a market-based financial
instrument that helps developing countries achieve sustainable
development and industrialized countries meet their emission reduction
targets.
The Erlongshan project is expected to be one of the first projects
eligible for carbon financing through the Asia Pacific Carbon Fund under
the recently ADB-approved Carbon Market Initiative.
The total project cost is estimated at 110 million dollars, of which
37.86 million dollars will be financed by domestic commercial bank loans,
and 22.14 million dollars by the city government and the Heihe Hydropower
Development Company.
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