Engurhesi Rehabilitation to Kick Off in 2019

One of the most significant projects that is planned to be carried out in Georgia in 2019 is the rehabilitation of Engurhesi, which represents a major electrical supplier of Georgia, supplying 30% of overall electricity in the country.

The Director of Engurhesi, Levan Mebonia, told Business Media Georgia that “the processes related to the tender for the rehabilitation of hydropower plant project Engurhesi will have to be completed by the end of April 2019”.

The costs of the rehabilitation of Engurhesi will be covered using a loan from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and funding from the EU Neighborhood Investment Facility (EU NIF). The total budget of the project amounts to 35 million Euro, of which 28 million Euro is the EBRD loan and 7 million the EU grant. Financing will primarily be used for the rehabilitation of the Enguri headrace tunnel and penstock, but it will also cover the expenses of the restoration of the Enguri switchyard, Vardnili II spillway gates, Enguri river diversion weir and access road, together with implementation of a sedimentation management plan. The main aim of the project is to promote resilience against climate change.

Another significant purpose of the given project is the amelioration of the effectiveness of the power plant. As a result of the rehabilitation process, the power plant will be able to produce 2% more power. The reconstructions will begin in 2019 and in the interval from March to April of 2020 the Enguri power plant will stop functioning for three months due to the works in the tunnel.

“There will be a partial renovation of the tunnel since three months is not enough time to fully reconstruct 15-kilometer long tunnel. We are planning to reconstruct the most needy parts of the tunnel, a 1.5km stretch," states Mebonia.

 By Ketevan Kvaratskheliya

Source, Image source: bm.ge