OREANDA-NEWS. GDF SUEZ, through its subsidiary EnerSur, has won a bid to build and operate a 500 MW thermal plant in Ilo, in the south of Peru. The total investment cost for the project is estimated at USD500 million. The project is backed by a 20 year Investment Agreement with the Peruvian State. The plant will supply energy to households and industrial companies and is expected to enter in commercial operation in 2017.

Initially, the plant will operate with diesel to offer stability to the electricity system in Peru, and later with natural gas once the gas pipeline currently under development is completed.

Gerard Mestrallet, Chairman and CEO of GDF SUEZ commented: “GDF SUEZ entered the Peruvian power market in 1997, and has since invested over USD 1.5 billion in the energy sector. With this new project we will consolidate our leading position as a power producer in the country and as an important contributor to the economic and social development of Peru”.

In June 2013, GDF SUEZ commissioned the 460MW Ilo Cold Reserve thermal power plant, and through its 61.7% interest in EnerSur, the Group currently has almost 2,000 MW of production capacity in Peru. It is the largest operator of power capacity in the country with a portfolio of thermal and hydropower plants.

Latin America currently represents the largest market for GDF SUEZ outside Europe. The Group operates more than 10% of its power generation facilities in this continent.