Work to secure the environmental license for the Alazan component of Ecuador's Dudas-Mazar hydroelectric power project is under way, an official from hydro generator Hidroazogues told wire services.
The permitting process should take another two months, officials reported, adding that efforts to close financing also continue.
Earlier this year, the company decided to continue - for now - only the 6.63-MW, US$9.45 million Alazan hydro plant of the 22.3-MW overall hydropower project due to financial reasons, according to wire reports from the region.
The project would use water from the Dudas and Mazar rivers in Canar province. The other plants are Dudas (6.72 MW, US$11.7 million) and San Antonio (8.95 MW, US$14.9 million).
The Canar provincial government, power utility Azogues and the municipality of Azogues created Hidroazogues to develop the project and other renewable energy projects. Plans include registering Alazan as a CDM.
In other news, Ecuador state hydro generator Hidropaute awarded consortium China Gezhouba Group-Fopeca the contract to build and put into operation the 487-MW Sopladora hydropower project, wire services reported.
The contract is worth US$672 million, which the Export-Import Bank of China will help finance, according to wire reports.
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