Completed Development AidData Chinese Aid

[China-Venezuela Joint Fund] China Funds USD 656,661,797.20 TermoZulia II Power Plant (linked to Record ID#35985, 58677)

Funder	China Development Bank (CDB)
Recipient Organization	Banco de Desarrollo Económico y Social de Venezuela (BANDES)\|China-Venezuela Joint Fund
Country	Venezuela
Start Date	Jan 01, 2006
End Date	Aug 11, 2031
Duration	9,353 days
Number of Grantees	1
Roles	Recipient
Data Source	AidData Chinese Aid
Grant ID	`91431`

Grant Description

[China-Venezuela Joint Fund] China Funds USD 656,661,797.20 TermoZulia II Power Plant Termozulia II is a power plant funded by the China-Venezuela Joint Fund (see Record ID#58677) Tranche A (see Record ID#35985). The plant cost USD 656,661,797. 20.

It was also financed by the Venezuelan state owned electricity company Corpoelec and FONDEN, a special fund used at the President’s discretion. It’s unclear how much of the funding for the project came from the joint fund. The implementing agencies were Inelectra and Sener. Implementation began in March of 2007.

On October 24, 2008, the first 150 MW unit was put into use and the plant began to provide electricity to the surrounding areas. On May 28, 2009, the second 150 MW unit was put into operation. Units 2 and 3 are also described as TZ-04 and TZ-05, respectively.

The final 170 MW unit was supposed to be completed in March of 2013, although it’s uncertain if that actually occurred.

This project is part of the broader General Rafael Urdaneta Thermoelectric Complex (Complejo Termoeléctrico General Rafael Urdaneta) which includes TermoZulia I, II, III, IV, and V.

Each TermoZulia plant was built at different times with different contractors and funding sources, so they are separate projects.

TermoZulia I and III did not have Chinese funding sources, TermoZulia IV is captured in Record ID#91492, and TermoZulia V is captured in Record ID#91486.

Despite having the same name, TermoZulia V is located approximately 122 kilometers away from the other TermoZulia plants.

📋 Staff Comments

Commitment date is uncertain. 'COMISIÓN MIXTA PARA EL ESTUDIO DE LA CRISIS ELÉCTRICA EN EL PAÍS INFORME FINAL' gives the date as 2006. However, Tranche A of the China-Venezuela joint fund was not available until November 2007 at the earliest.
The 2012 report 'Presupuestos y Memoria y Cuenta 2010-2013' puts the total budget at USD 656, 661, 797.
'COMISIÓN MIXTA PARA EL ESTUDIO DE LA CRISIS ELÉCTRICA EN EL PAÍS INFORME FINAL' suggests that the budget as of 2011 was USD 748 million. The more conservative number was used.
It's unclear if the plant ever reached its planned 470 MW capacity, and its status as of 2022 is unknown. Some reports suggest that the entire General Rafael Urdaneta Thermoelectric Complex was experiencing 'constant failures' as of 2018.
It's unclear how much of the funding came from the China-Venezuela Joint Fund.
This project is linked to project ID#58677, which captures the China-Venezuela Joint Fund and project ID#35985, which captures tranche A of the fund. It is also linked to the other China-funded project in the General Rafael Urdaneta Thermoelectric Complex, Termozulia IV (see project ID#91492). The funding for Termozulia I is unclear, and Termozulia III was funded by the Development Bank of Latin America (CAF). Termozulia V (see project ID#91486) is not part of the General Rafael Urdaneta Thermoelectric Complex.

📚 Sources & References

Se necesitan 1.000 millones de euros en inversión para el mantenimiento del parque generador eléctrico venezolano
Memoria y Cuenta 2012
COMISIÓN MIXTA PARA EL ESTUDIO DE LA CRISIS ELÉCTRICA EN EL PAÍS INFORME FINAL
Planta Termozulia II y sus obras de transmisión asociadas
Corpoelec prevé incorporar el ciclo combinado Termozulia II para marzo de 2013, 150 megavatios de la Unidad TZ04 son reincorporados al SEN a través de TERMOZULIA II, informe ANUAL 2011/2012
SENER at the ENGINEERING 2014
Latin America and the Caribbean
Congress and Exhibition
Inaugurada segunda unidad de Termozulia II
Complejo TERMOZULIA (Venezuela), toda una realidad.
Data 1 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.