Gibe III Hydroelectric Plant
The contract was signed on July 19, 2006 for about € 1,607 million and includes the construction of a 1,870 MW hydroelectric power plant consisting of an RCC (Roller Compacted Concrete) dam measuring 243 meters high with an open-air power plant. Other permanent works consist of a total of 75 km of access roads, a new bridge over the Omo River, and camps and structures for the client.
In addition, an agreement was signed with the client in 2010 for the construction of the 66-kV electrical power line from the Sodo-Wolayta substation to the Gibe III site. This line and its substations will remain the property of the client EEPCo, but as compensation Salini Impregilo (then Salini) will receive electrical power at a preferred rate compared to the national standard.
The percentage of work completion as at June 30, 2015, was 91.4%.
“Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam” (GERD) Hydroelectric Power Plant
A contract for building the “Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam” Hydroelectric Power Plant (GERDP) was signed between Salini Costruttori and the EEPCo (Ethiopian Electric Power Corporation) on December 30, 2010. The contract calls for the construction of the largest dam on the African continent (1,800 meters long, 170 meters high, and a total volume of 10 million cubic meters) and two power plants on the banks of the Blue Nile equipped with a total of 16 turbines, each rated at 375 MW.
Addendum no. 2 was signed on March 12, 2012, to formalize the client’s request to increase the voltage of the power line between Beles and the GERDP from the originally planned 132 kW to 400 kW. This change led to an increase in the contract value to € 42 million, bringing the overall total of the project to the current € 3.6 billion.
Construction work on the riverbank power plants, the permanent camp, and the construction site roads is mostly completed, as well as works on diverting the Nile into the special channel.
The percentage of work completion as at June 30, 2015, was 40.7%.