CAF and TDE sign loan agreement to finance Carrasco-Santiváñez transmission line

(La Paz, June 13, 2007).- The President & CEO of the Andean Development Corporation Enrique Garcia and Vice President and Deputy CEO Fabio Sarmiento of Transportadora de Electricidad S.A. (TDE), Bolivian utility with primarily Spanish capital, signed a loan agreement for US$15 million to finance construction of the Carrasco-Santivañez transmission line, part of a program with a total investment of over US$30 million which will improve the stability and efficiency of the Bolivian electricity system.

The project, which was approved by the Electricity Superintendency on May 9, 2005, consists of the construction, operation and maintenance of a 225.6-kilometer 230-KV transmission line which will connect the Carrasco and Santiváñez substations. Construction work is scheduled to conclude in July this year.

The CAF president said, "Through financial support for energy infrastructure projects, a vital service is provided for communities and producers in the area with availability of energy - the basic input of the economy - but also strengthens the national electricity system by expanding the capacity for electric power exchange."

Transportadora de Electricidad S.A., borrower and executing agency for the project, is a company with proven financial strength and a highly experienced and capable management. The company is responsible for operation of the high-voltage electricity transmission network within the National Interconnected System (SIN) which integrates the generation, distribution and transmission facilities in the departments of La Paz, Santa Cruz, Cochabamba, Oruro, Chuquisaca and Potosí.

The Carrasco-Santiváñez line, together with the investments that the company executed in 2004 and 2005, are very important for Bolivia because they expand the power exchange capacity between La Paz, Cochabamba and Santa Cruz, which concentrates 85% of demand, facilitating exploitation and complementation between gas thermal generation and hydroelectricity. This process reinforces the SIN and improves the efficiency and stability of the Bolivian electricity service.

CAF participation in this type of initiative is part of its integrated “development hubs" strategy which is intended to give a structural stimulus to improvements in social conditions and productive capacities in the country.