Ecuador and Iran have agreed to build three hydroelectric projects in Ecuador, wire services reported.

The 257-MW first unit of Venezuela's 514-MW Fabricio Ojeda hydro project is due to be inaugurated in October, according to Javier Alvarado, president of state power utility EDC.

Global consulting and engineering firm Poyry has been awarded the site supervision contract for the Ashta run-of-river hydropower plants in Albania by Energji Ashta Shpk, a subsidiary of Verbund International. The value of the contract is about EUR 3.4 million (US$4.6 million).

Brazil will help build a hydroelectric power project in Haiti, Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said.
The president recently visited Haiti to meet with Haitian President Rene Preval.

Brazil's 1,087-MW Estreito hydro plant will launch commercial operations earlier than expected, a spokesperson at the mines and energy ministry reported.

Brazil's Vale SA mining firm and three partners said they may bid to build the Belo Monte hydro project in Brazil’s Amazon region.

GE Energy Financial Services, a unit of GE, and Plutonic Power Corporation, announced that the 196 MW East Toba River and Montrose Creek hydroelectric project in British Columbia is more than 80 percent complete.

China Hydroelectric Corporation intends to purchase a trio of hydro assets in China’s Yunnan province totaling 78 MW.

Poyry, a global consulting and engineering firm based in Finland, has been awarded a EUR 6.1 million (US$8.3 million) contract for feasibility studies, tender design, detail design and construction supervision of the Uma Oya hydropower project in Sri Lanka.

Vietnam-based infrastructure development company Cavico Corp. signed an additional construction contract at the Hua Na hydropower project with Lilama, a state-owned company owned and operated by the Vietnamese Ministry of Construction.

Brazil’s environmental authority, Ibama, has issued a preliminary license for the 11.2 GW Belo Monte hydroelectric project in the Amazon region, subject to a number of conditions covering environmental concerns and other issues.

Hydro-Quebec will pay C$3.2 billion (US$3 billion) to buy most of New Brunswick Power's generating facilities, the utilities reported.

Canada’s Ojibway Power and Energy Group is proposing to construct a hydro project on the Namakan River near Lac La Croix, Ontario, the company reported.

Poyry, a global consulting and engineering firm, signed a contract for the development of four hydropower projects on the Murat River in Turkey, the company reported.

The Zambian government and the Export and Import Bank of India have signed a US$50 million loan to help develop the Itezhi-Tezhi hydroelectric project in Zambia.