Ita Energetica SA

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The 1,450-MW Ita hydroelectric plant was one of the 12 Brazilian energy projects initiated in the late 1980s and suspended due to insufficient public sector resources. The project was awarded in August 1995 to a consortium of Eletrosul and Ita Energetica SA (Itasa) which won the rights to complete, own, and operate the power plant owned by Electrosul for 35 years. Eletrosul was the state-owned electricity utility of Rio Grande do Sul State; in 1998, Eletrosul was privatized and changed its name to Gerasul. Itasa is a consortium of the state-owned Eletrobras (48.55%), Gerasul (25.08%), CSN (25.08%) and Cia. Cimentos Itambe (1.29%). Gerasul holds a total of 69% of the hydro power plant assets. The plant will be built based on fixed priced turnkey contract by a construction consortium led by CBPO, a member of the Odebrecht Group. The total project cost is US$1.07 billion. The Ita Energetica SA hydroelectric project (ITASA) closed financing in September 1999. The project was funded via a US$75 million A loan and US$300 million B loan from the IADB (approved in 1997), a US$267.5 million equity investment and a US$427.5 million loan from Brazil's state-owned development bank, BNDES. The first turbine of the power plant begun commercial operation in Sep. 2000, and the plant is expected to be fully operational by Feb. 2001. Itasa was composed by Consorcio Itasa ( CSN, Odebrecht Quimica and Companhia de Cimentos Itambe) and Eletrosul (Eletrobras subsidiary). Eletrosul was privatized and became Gerasul, and in 1998, Tractebel Energia, a wholly-owned company of GDF Suez, acquired Gerasul's shares, becoming the major shareholder of Itasa Energetica (68%). Finally, in 2000, Gerasul bought Odebrecht Quimica shares' in the project company. As of December 2009, Itasa Energetica was established as a joint-venture of Gerasul/Tractebel (69%), CSN(29,5%) and Companhia de Cimentos Itambe (1,5%). The investments undertaken by Ita Energetica year by year were: 1999 – US$ 121.7 million (R$ 220 million) 2000 – US$ 42.6 million (R$ 83 million) 2001 – US$ 12.6 million (R$ 28 million) 2002 – US$ 4.5 million (R$ 13 million)