Chinese Government provides grant for 3MW Vaturu Hydropower Project

The 3MW Vaturu Hydropower Project is a small-scale run-of-river hydropower project implemented by Sustainable Energy Limited (SEL), a joint venture between the Fijian Electricity Authority (FEA) and an Australian project developer, Pacific Hydro Limited (PHL). The $12 million project consists of a new power station that makes use of the water pressure to develop up to 3MW of renewable electricity, and the generation technology is a single horizontal Pelton-type two jet turbine coupled to a generator rated at 3MW. A large water storage at Vaturu Dam provides water to the Nagado Water Treatment Plant via a 17 km long pipeline system. Part of the pipeline was to be upgraded through the project and it provides a gross operating head of 321m. Water is first directed to the power station then the tailwater is gravity fed into the water treatment plant. Energy which had previously been wasted through pressure reduction valves can now be utilized to produce electricity. Water is delivered to the treatment plant all year round so the Vaturu power plant is expected to have a high capacity factor producing an annual energy of 20,00MWh. The power plant is grid-connected and located at the Nagado Water Treatment works in Sabeto city within Nandi Province on the island of Viti Levu. Construction commenced in June 2004 and the the power plant was formally opened on May 1, 2006. This plant makes use of the water that is released from a water supply reservoir in the western region and it is expected to deliver 19 GWh annually. According to a 2015 speech by Fiji's Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mereseini Vuniwaqa, the Chinese government provided ‘aid’ to help finance the Vaturu Hydropower Project. However, the amount, nature, and timing of the aid that was provided is unknown.

Additional details

This project is also known as the 2.8MW Nagado Hydropower Project. According to the World Bank, FEA issued secured loans to SEL amounting to FJD 10.9 million. These loans were to be repaid over 10 years at a 7.5 percent interest rate, though it is unclear if FEA first obtained the loan(s) from the Chinese Government. However, given that there is no official record from the Government of Fiji of a Chinese Government loan for the 2.8MW Vaturu Hydropower Project, AidData has flow-coded this project as grant-financed fo the time being.

Number of official sources

10

Number of total sources

14