TermoFortaleza

completed

The project consists of the development, construction and operation of a 310.7 MW (net) thermal power plant located in the industrial complex near the Port of Pecém, in the municipality of Caucaia, state of Ceará, in the poorest northeastern region of Brazil that was most severely affected by the recent power rationing program. The Government of Brazil (GOB) established the Programa Prioritário de Termeletricidade (PPT Program) in order to incentivize the development of licensed thermal power plants so as to more optimally balance the country’s power generation capacity base. The project is designed to complement the Northeast region’s hydropower-based electricity production by providing natural gas-fired generation capacity. The project is included in the PPT program. The plant will sell its entire output, under a 20-year Power Purchase Agreement (PPA), to Companhia Energética do Ceará (Colece), the sole electricity distribution company for the state of Ceará. Cegás, the gas distribution company for the state of Ceará, and Petrobrás, the national oil and gas company, will supply natural gas to the project under 20-year Gas Supply Agreements (GSAs). Mitsui is the selected EPC Contractor. The total project cost is estimated at about $250 million. The plant is currently under construction, and is expected to achieve commercial operation by December 2003.