On February 6th the Board of Directors of European Investment Bank (EIB) unanimously approved the financing of Nenskra Hydropower Plant (HPP) project, with a senior loan of US$ 150 million.

The EIB, as the EU Bank, is owned by the 28 member states of the European Union and supports the policies of the EU both inside and outside of the EU. In Georgia, with an ongoing lending portfolio amounting to more than 1.5 billion EURO covering large sectors of the economy from the road and water infrastructures to the SMEs, the EIB ranks among the first public financiers of the country. With a total lending of 68.9 billion EURO in 2017, the EIB is also the biggest International Financing Institution worldwide.

The Nenskra HPP Project project is being carried by JSC Nenskra Hydro, that was established by the investor – Korea Water Resources Corporation (K-water) and JSC Partnership Fund, which has recently become an official shareholder in the project company.

As of today, EIB is the third International Financial Institution that has approved financing of Nenskra Hydropower Plant project. Previously Korea Development Bank (KDB) have approved a loan of US$ 87.6 while European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) have approved the loan of up to US$ 214 million, as well as provision of a US$ 15 million equity investment in JSC Nenskra Hydro.

Nenskra Hydropower Plant will be constructed in the Nenskra and Nakra river Valleys in Mestia Municipality of the Svaneti region. The HPP will generate approximately 1’200.00 GWh of electricity annually, which will be fully consumed by the Georgian market, contributing to significant decrease of energy import in winter time.

The Nenskra HPP main construction is scheduled to commence in 2018, in the meantime the preparatory works are going on in the Nenskra Valley, as well as works within the framework of the Community Investment Program that was designed to contribute to the sustainable development of the Nenskra and Nakra Valleys, through investing in the development of small and medium-sized enterprises locally, skills training of the community members and so on.