Managua, NIC, February 10, 2010

Tumarin, the largest hydroelectric project in Nicaragua, will initiate construction during the next three months, according to Sin Val Zaidan, Vice President of the Brazilian state-owned energy giant Electrobras. The project will represent an estimated investment of US$600 million and an energy generation capacity of up to 220 megawatts (MW) once fully operational.

The project will be located in the city of Matagalpa, in the northern region of Nicaragua, and its dam will be built by Brazilian company Queiroz Galvão in partnership with Electrobras. Tumarin is expected to begin operations in 2014, and once completed, the plant will supply 25 percent of Nicaragua's energy demand, representing savings of nearly 10 percent in the country's energy bill.

Marcelo Conde, Representative of Central Hidrolectrica de Centroamérica (CHC), explained that the project will create approximately 6,000 direct and indirect jobs and is expected to have an impact of two percent in the country's gross domestic product (GDP) during the first year.

Part of the project includes constructing a 48km road between Tumarin and the community of San Pedro del Norte in the South Atlantic Autonomous Region (RAAS, for its acronym in Spanish), which will greatly facilitate electrification efforts in the region as well as the integration of rural communities. "With this project, many of the people who live in nearby communities will have access to food, health services and transportation for the first time", said Eliseo Nunez, President of the Infrastructure and Public Services Commission of Nicaragua's National Assembly.

Estimates from the Ministry of Energy and Mines indicate that Nicaragua has a hydroelectric potential of 3,280 MW, of which only 98 MW are currently being utilized. This represents a huge potential for companies interested in developing hydroelectric projects in the country, in addition to the opportunities in other types of renewable energy sources such as wind, geothermal and biomass.