CAF supports the Project to Supply and Install Underwater Cables in Lake Maracaibo

CAF, Development Bank of Latin America, announced the approval of USD 200 million for the project "Supply and Installation of Underwater Cable at 400 kV in Lake Maracaibo, framed in the development Plan of the National Electric Sector (PDSEN, for its acronym in Spanish).  

The project consists of the installation of two isolated cable circuits at 400 kV which will substitute the tranches currently crossing Lake Maracaibo by air, as part of the transmission lines between the El Tablazo and Cuatricentenario sub-stations, located in the northern and western areas of the lake, respectively. This will enable a safer and more reliable transmission toward the western area of the country. The start of the project's execution is estimated for the first semester of 2015, and will be completed in a period of four years. 

The execution of this work will improve the quality of the electric service, benefitting more than 700,000 users in the northwestern region of lake Maracaibo, and will partially address the projected growth of demand. The executing agency will be the  Corporación Eléctrica Nacional, C.A (CORPOELEC)(National Electricity Corporation).

The total cost of the project reaches USD 400 million, corresponding to 50 percent of CAF's financing (USD 200 million), and the remaning 50 percent (USD 200 million) will be paid for by the Venezuelan government.