Active Development AidData Chinese Aid

[China-Venezuela Joint Fund] China loans USD 840 million for construction of Planta Centro Power Plant (linked to Record ID#58677, #37833, #37804, and #37808)

Funder	China Development Bank (CDB)
Recipient Organization	Banco de Desarrollo Económico y Social de Venezuela (BANDES)\|China-Venezuela Joint Fund
Country	Venezuela
Start Date	Dec 23, 2010
End Date	Jun 05, 2031
Duration	7,469 days
Number of Grantees	1
Roles	Recipient
Data Source	AidData Chinese Aid
Grant ID	`91235`

Grant Description

[China-Venezuela Joint Fund] China loans USD 840 million for construction of Planta Centro Power Plant In 2010, USD 5.4 billon from the China-Venezuela Joint Fund Long Term Facility (see Record ID#37804, and #37808) was allocated to constructing power plants (see Record ID#37833).

On December 23, 2010, CMEC and Corpoelec signed a contract for the construction of 600 MW for the Planta Centro power plant (Spanish: Termoeléctrica Planta Centro, Chinese: 中央电厂). Construction began May 31, 2012. In March of 2015, CMEC organized a training in China for 30 Venezuelan technicians to learn how to run the plant.

The handover ceremony occurred on May 18, 2016. CMEC was the implementing agency for Unit 6 of the plant. Units 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 were built in 1978, 1982, 1982, and 2015, respectively. Unit 6 was the only unit constructed with this loan. The 600 MW steam generation unit built for this plant is one of the largest in South America.

Despite the new unit, the plant was only producing at 12.8% capacity in 2016. There was a difference of USD 672 million between the advertised cost and the actual cost. This was an overcharge of 125%.

A lawsuit in Andorra over bribes paid by Chinese contractors to Venezuelan ministers alleged that CMEC secured the contract with a USD 55 million bribe. By 2019, the plant was not producing at all. Efforts were being made to revive the plant beginning in 2019.

The Bolivarian Militia was deployed to the plant for weeding and plant control, and to defend the plant against "saboteurs".

📋 Staff Comments

This project is linked to project ID#58677, which represents the China-Venezuela Joint Fund, and project ID#37833, which is an umbrella project representing power plants pledged as part of the long-term joint facility. It is unclear if the funding came from the USD or RMB facility, so no interest rate is recorded.
No transaction amount is included because the funding for this project is already detailed in #37833.
According to CMEC, the contract was signed on December 23, 2010, and construction started on May 31, 2012. According to Corpoelec, construction started in January 2013. According to the National Assembly, the contract was signed in 2013. AidData uses the dates from CMEC.

📚 Sources & References

COMISIÓN MIXTA PARA EL ESTUDIO DE LA CRISIS ELÉCTRICA EN EL PAÍS INFORME FINAL
记委内瑞拉600MW机组项目二三事, 9月1日委内瑞拉第4天：中央电厂专家的热泪
Específicamente el proceso de construcción de la unidad número 6
Ministro Chacón inspecciona termoeléctrica Planta Centro en Carabobo
Supervisan labores de reactivación de Termoeléctrica Planta Centro en Carabob
Motta Domínguez Frustrado intento de sabotaje
励精图治筑丰碑中设美誉飄南美——委内瑞拉中央电厂6号600MW蒸汽轮发电机组项目竣工纪实
Supervisan Central Termoeléctrica Planta Centro y Termocarabobo II
Termoeléctrica Planta Centro
Chinese investment in Venezuela’s grid fails to prevent blackouts
Venezuela, revolving door for Chinese interests in Latin America (part II)
Inicio Unidad VI incorporará 600 megavatios al SEN Llegó a Planta Centro el domo del equipo de generación a vapor a instalar por CORPOELEC Loan applications and disbursements are still being received and processed as the projects continue to evolve. Ongoing monitoring and evaluation are in place to ensure project continuity.

All Grantees

Banco de Desarrollo Económico y Social de Venezuela (BANDES)|China-Venezuela Joint Fund

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