Stakraft temporarily halts construction of Tidong and Los Lagos projects due to COVID-19
9 April 2020
Statkraft has announced that construction work on the 100MW Tidong hydropower project in India and the 52MW Los Lagos hydropower project in Chile have been temporarily put on hold due to the COVID-19 outbreak, although work on the 184MW Moglice hydropower project in Albania is continuing.
Statkraft said that, together with its contractors, it is closely monitoring the development of the COVID-19 outbreak and is taking continuous measures in line with the advice of national health authorities. It said it is continually assessing how its construction projects should react to the spread of the virus and the subsequent impacts, as well as planning ahead for different scenarios.
The decisions to put some of the construction projects on hold is in line with Statkraft's commitment to the safety and well-being of people on site. It also provides the best way to ensure the value of the asset is retained, the company said.
At the Tidong project, all Statkraft staff and contractors’ personnel were informed and a hibernation plan was put in motion by the project team on Saturday 21 March. Civil works at the Los Lagos site were also paused, and a hibernation plan executed. While both projects are on hold, adequate emergency and security staff remain on site.
Work is continuing at Moglice as the construction works are completed, and the project is now in the final process of commissioning. Commercial operations are expected to start in Q2-2020.
In a statement the company said that at the moment, the COVID-19 outbreak situation is too unpredictable to assess when it will be safe to restart work, and what the economic consequences of the delays could be.
Work is continuing to commission the Moglice hydropower plant this year.
