EDP enters Colombian energy market with China Three Gorges

Energias de Portugal (EDP) has acquired a stake in the hydroelectric project of Talasa, Colombia, marking the entry into that country’s market of Portugal’s largest energy company, an EDP official confirmed to Lusa on Wednesday.

The stake in the Talasa project, in the district of Chocó, was taken by Hydro Global, a 50-50 joint venture between EDP and the latter’s main shareholder, China Three Gorges (CTG).

AICEP, Portugal’s foreign trade and investment agency, said that the project in Colombia “marks the entry of EDP in this market”, in a note published on its website.

“This project will employ thousands of Colombians in a district affected by the conflict that the country faced and presupposes an investment of 500 million dollars, an amount that comes to double the direct investment of Portugal in Colombia,” says the same note.

Also according to the note, “Hydro Global has two other projects in an analysis for the market, at this moment being focused on the implementation of this dam that will start the work in April next year”.

In March EDP director João Marques da Cruz, who oversees the group’s international strategy, told Lusa that in Colombia the group was seeking to acquire the right to build and exploit a hydroelectric project, with a capacity of 179 MW, designated Talasa, owned by the Macquarie Development Corporation.

“Talasa has all the licenses given by the Colombian state [and] has priority, because it is considered a project of national interest,” he added.

At the time, EDP indicated that the aim was for Hydro Global to take a 20% stake in the Talasa project.

LUSA