US$100 million to meet demand for natural gas in Bolivia

(Caracas, January 10, 2008).- The Andean Development Corporation approved a long-term loan for US$100 million for Transred in the Republic of Bolivia, to partially finance the corporate investment plan for 2008 and 2009, which is estimated at US$225 and whose main component is the Carrasco-Cochabamba Gas Pipeline Project, with an estimated cost of US$117 million.

This operation aims to reduce the shortfall between supply and demand for gas in western Bolivia, and strengthen the transport system as a whole in terms of capacity, reliability and safety, improving the company’s position for capturing the growth of the domestic and export markets.

The Carrasco Cochabamba gas pipeline, a core piece in achieving the objectives of the 2008-2009 investment plan, has a total length of 250 kilometers. The pipe will start from Carrasco, northwest of Santa Cruz to Cochabamba, strengthening the operation of the Altiplano Gas Pipeline by increasing transport capacity to the western region and connecting the production wells located in the center of the country ((Carrasco and Yacapaní) with Cochabamba, Oruro and La Paz, tus efficiently releasing the area’s gas production. These developments will increase the flexibility and sustainability of the network as well as export volumes. It will also help with the process of industrializing the service since it is planned to connect distribution networks, which will expand the market for the project to convert vehicles to gas.

Transred S.A is the leading company in the hydrocarbon transport sector in Bolivia managing the domestic gas transport network. In this respect it has an important strategic value in the hydrocarbon sector, which means the company needs an investment program which guarantees this sustainability and accompany the development projects in the country.

This is the second operation in which CAF has supported Transredes. The first, jointly with other financial institutions, partially covered the 2001-2006 investment program.