Feasibility studies into Brazil and Argentina's shared 2.2 GW Garabí-Panambí hydroelectric complex are to begin early next year. Brazilian power firm Eletrobras has released a statement outlining a working schedule for the project after a meeting with Argentina's power trading company Ebisa and representatives of both governments in Buenos Aires.
"The expectation is that the contract will be signed in December and that a viability study will begin in the first quarter of 2013," Eletrobras said. According to the state-run company, the studies will include environmental and social impact reports, whcih are necessary for the plants' operating licences.
The second phase of the project would be a bid round for construction of the facilities, expected to take place in 2015.
The schedule estimates building work will begin in 2016 with the project set to be fully operational by 2020. The complex, consisting of two 1.1 GW dams, would be built on the border between the southern Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul and the Argentine province of Corrientes. Total investment is expected to be US$4.8 bn, with financing coming from both governments and the Inter-American Development Bank.
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