China Power Investment Corp. will add 16 new hydropower projects along the Jialingjiang River, according to plans announced by the company.

Chilean utility Compania General de Electricidad S.A. (CGE) plans to begin construction this year on its 136-MW Nuble run-of-river hydro project, which could put the hydropower project on schedule for completion in 2013, project developers told wire services.

China's Xiangjiaba hydropower project is on track to begin generating power in 2012, Interfax China reported.

Construction work on the Uri-II hydroelectric project in Kashmir's Uri town has reached its final stage, with construction set for completion in 2011, wire services reported.

United Kingdom-based management, engineering and development firm Mott MacDonald will continue to monitor construction of Pakistan's 84-MW New Bong Escape hydro project, the first private hydropower development in Pakistan to reach financial close, Mott MacDonald reported.

An Innu community has launched a legal bid to block construction of the Romaine hydroelectric project in Quebec.

Brazil's Odebrecht could in September begin construction of the 360-MW Chaglla hydro project in Peru, according to wire reports.

The Beles hydropower project in Ethiopia has started generating 115 megawatts with a single turbine as part of a trial run, wire services reported.

Commercial operations of the first unit of Ecuadorian state generator Hidropaute's 160-MW Mazar hydropower project in Azuay province are set to begin, wire services reported.

The Sibulan Hydropower Project has begun operation, with the first of its two hydro plants generating 26 megawatts, Aboitiz reported.

The first hydroelectric plant in Australia to generate power from treated sewage has been switched on at North Head sewage treatment plant as part of a New South Wales plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and generate green energy.

Aboitiz Power Corporation's Hydroelectric Development Corp. Inc. is looking for sites for new hydro projects in Luzon and Mindanao.

New hydropower project development is the focus of a conference track offered at the upcoming HydroVision International Conference and Exhibition in North Carolina.

The consortium that recently won the tender for Brazil's Belo Monte hydroelectric project plans to build the hydro project for less than the 19 billion reais (US$10.8 billion) cost estimated by the government, wire services reported.

Construction of Albania's 48-MW Ashta run-of-river hydropower project is on schedule for completion by 2012, developers reported.