Cuba and Kuwait Sign Agreement in Energy Sector

HAVANA, Cuba, Apr 23 (acn) Cuba and Kuwait signed on Friday in this capital the first agreement of long-term loan in the energy sector, which will allow the Caribbean nation to finance the construction project of 34 small hydroelectric plants.
The signing of documents took place at the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Investment by Manuel Okay, president of the Banco Exterior de Cuba; Livan Arrontes, general director of the Union Electrica, and Abdulwahab Al-Bader, general director of the Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development.
The written arrangement, which includes three agreements -Loan, Guarantee and Project-, will favor the acquisition of transportation for the construction of interconnection lines; improve access roads to places where hydroelectric plants are located, as well as the creation of jobs in those areas.
Speaking to the press, Abdulwahab Al-Bader thanked Cuba for the opportunity to cooperate in the implementation of these initiatives, and expressed interest in undertaking joint plans in the future.
Livan Arrontes, general director of Union Electrica, said that the 34 small hydroelectric plants will have a capacity of 14.6 megawatts, and will be connected to the national grid.
The funding granted amounts to approximately 30 million dollars, and will make it possible to generate electricity in the country by using the water coming out from existing reservoirs, intended mainly to agriculture, with which fossil fuel imports and carbon dioxide emissions to the atmosphere will be reduced.