New | China’s Gezhouba Group wins 4 electricity contracts in Venezuela

China’s Gezhouba Group has won four electricity contracts in Venezuela totaling 9.91 billion yuan (US$1.62 billion), the Chinese dam construction firm announced today. The Latin American country is one of the few nations in the world to rely heavily on hydropower.

On 10 December 2014, Gezhouba signed in Caracas, the Venezuelan capital, a 2.18 billion yuan contract to strengthen the electricity grid in Venezuela, the Shanghai-listed firm announced.

Earlier that month, the state-owned firm signed in Caracas a 2.81 billion yuan contract to strengthen another electricity grid in Venezuela.

In November 2014, Gezhouba received notification that it had won a 2.78 billion yuan contract to expand a power transmission project in Venezuela. On 3 November 2014, Gezhouba received notification that it had won a 2.15 billion yuan contract to strengthen an electricity grid in southern Venezuela.

In addition, Gezhouba won a contract to build a hydropower project in Gabon for 1.52 billion yuan (US$249 million) in October last year, and a water supply project in Ethiopia for 2.03 billion yuan (US$330 million) in December last year, the Shanghai-listed firm announced.

On Wednesday, China agreed to invest more than US$20 billion in Venezuela following talks in Beijing between Chinese President Xi Jinping and the Latin American country’s, President Nicolas Maduro.