The 3,150MW Santo Antion project is being built on the Madeira river and is part of the 6450MW ‘Madeira’ scheme, the other part being the 3,300MW Jirau project.
Last month the winning bidder of the concession auction was announced as the Madeira Energia consortium, led by power group Furnas Centrais Electricas and contractor Odebrecht, and in which Cemig holds the 10% stake. The Madeira Energia JV bid more than a third below the cap of R$122/MWh (US$69/MWh) set by the national electricity regulator Aneel in the closed door auction. The documents submitted for prcessing in recent days.
Cemig’s board approved continued holding of the stake as, it said, the valuation of the project was in line with corporate requirements for return on investments. The company has declined for the short0term to give further details on its investment requirements.
The administrative checks for the auction process are to be completed by 19 February, and the 30 year concession contracts are due to be signed May-June. The plant will be located on the section of the Madeira river in the west Amazon, near the border with Bolivia. The first two of 44 units are to be in operation by December 2012, which gives a construction period of 43 months.
The JV is also looking at Jirau scheme, which is to go to auction this year.
