Turkey's Aksa Enerji Signs with China's CNTIC for 251-Megawatt Plant Project

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Turkish energy company Aksa Enerji (ISE:AKSEN) (Istanbul, Turkey) and China National Technical Corporation (CNTIC) (Beijing, China) signed a memorandum of understanding to construct seven hydroelectric power plant projects in Turkey.

According to a company statement to the Istanbul Stock Exchange, the total power production capacity for the project is 251 megawatts (MW), with an investment cost of $463 million.

CNTIC will be the contractor and a consortium led by China Development Bank will provide financing for the project. The lenders will finance 85% of the investment cost, while the remainder will be financed by Aksa Enerji. The completion of financing is not expected to be until June. The plants will become operational in the next two years after the completion of financing, which might be early 2016.

"The project corresponds to 13% of Aksa Enerji's current installed capacity and will provide further diversification to Aksa Enerji's generation fleet," said Kazim Andac, an analyst at Deutsche Bank in Istanbul. Currently, Aksa Enerji's installed capacity is 2,046 MW, which is dominated by natural gas power plants with an 80% share in the portfolio.

In early December, Turkish Energy Minister Taner Yildiz said that the country is targeting $115 billion in energy investments by 2023 to meet growing demand amid an economic expansion that has averaged 5.5% in the past decade. Turkey generates 41.4% of its electricity from natural gas-powered plants; 27.4% from coal-powered plants; and 25.9% from hydroelectric plants. Turkey's total electricity generation capacity is 55,875 MW.

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