PIMeso-American Electricity Interconnection receives funds

(Caracas, February 10, 2009).- CAF President & CEO Enrique García, and José Enrique Martínez, general manager of Empresa Propietaria de la Red (EPR), signed a loan contract for US$16.7 million which will permit EPR to partially finance the Electricity Interconnection System for the Countries of Central America (SIEPAC). The ceremony took place in the CAF headquarters in Caracas.

The investment program to be executed by EPR is part of the Meso-America Project (formerly the Puebla Panama Plan) whose objective is to contribute to the integration and development process in this region, through the conceptualization, financing and execution of programs, projects, and activities of regional interest with high impact on the quality of life of the peoples of the area, promoting expanded and better coverage of the electricity service and the creation of markets in the sector.

During the ceremony, García said, "the Corporation’s purpose is to grant these funds to contribute physically to the electricity systems of the markets of Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and Panama and facilitate interconnection with Mexico and Colombia, with which we continue strengthening regional integration processes." The CAF chief added that the Meso-America Project favored the reactivation of the political and technical agreements needed among the six countries to implement the Program in question.

The total cost of the program is US$405 million which includes construction of approximately 1,830 kilometers of 230 kilovolt transmission lines and connections to transformer substations in each country from Panama to Guatemala, in a scheme to integrate and reinforce the power transmission networks of Central America.

SIEPAC and the interconnections with Mexico and Colombia will achieve the benefits of integrating six electricity systems, creating a single regional electricity market; integration of the communication systems of Central America, Mexico, and Colombia and the submarine cables; and reduction of greenhouse gas emissions.