Chinese company clinches deal for hydropower project

The China Three Gorges Corp. (CTGPC), based in central China's Hubei Province, has signed a contract with the government of Cameroon to work on a hydropower project in the African country, the company confirmed on Friday. The China International Water and Electric Corp., a subsidiary of the CTGPC, will build the Lom Pangar Hydropower Project for Cameroon's Electricity Development Corp., according to the CTGPC. The contract was signed on Aug. 12 at a ceremony attended by CTGPC representatives and Cameroon water authority officials, the CTGPC said in a statement. The contract mainly includes the construction of a dam across the Sanaga River, as well as two tertiary dams, according to the statement. The contract is worth nearly 200 million U.S. dollars, CTGPC said. The project will be jointly funded by the World Bank's International Development Association (IDA), the French Development Agency (AFD) and the European Investment Bank (BEI). CTGPC said the hydropower project will be constructed within a period of 38 months, or just over three years. Upon completion, the dam will capture water from the Sanaga River to fill a six-billion-cubic-meter reservoir, according to the statement. The CTGPC's first overseas hydropower project, built in Laos, has generated 500 million kilowatt-hours (kwh) of electricity in the year since it went into operation, according to the company.