The tender for the construction of the 400 kV overhead power transmission line on the Vulcanesti-Chisinau direction was won by an Indian company – KEC International, announced Andrei Spînu, Minister of Infrastructure and Regional Development of the Republic of Moldova. The works are part of the project “Interconnection of electricity networks between the Republic of Moldova and Romania, Phase I” and are intended to reduce the dependence of the Republic of Moldova on electricity produced in the separatist region of Transnistria, at the Cuciurgan power plant.
The project envisages the construction of a 400 kV overhead power transmission line (OHL) with a length of approximately 158 km in the direction of Vulcanesti – Chisinau, which will cross the territory of 35 localities in 9 regions of the country, including UTA Gagauzia and the municipality Chisinau. Together with the back-to-back conversion station from Vulcănești, the OHL represents a major project of asynchronous interconnection of the energy system in the Republic of Moldova with that in Romania and, implicitly, with the European system of power carriers ENTSO-E.
“Besides the diversification of imports, the interconnection through high voltage lines with Romania would also ensure the possibility of transit for electricity from Ukraine or Transnistria to the European market, which would bring higher revenues from transmission tariffs for Moldelectrica”, observed Otilia Nuțu ( Expert Forum) and Denis Cenușă (Expert-Grup Analytical Center), authors of a study, in 2016. From Romania’s perspective, the interconnection will also be to the advantage of renewable energy producers concentrated in the Dobrogea area, who will be able to use the OHL Vulcanesti-Chisinau for exiting power flows from the Romanian network in the area.
KEC International, part of the Indian RPG concern, won the contract for the construction of the 400 kV OHL Vulcănești-Chișinău with an offer of 27 million euros and an execution duration of 42 months.
The construction of the Vulcănești-Chisinau OHL is part of the Energy System Development Project of the Republic of Moldova (PDSE), in order to ensure the interconnection of energy systems in Romania and Moldova, PDSE, which also provides for the construction of a Back-to-Back power conversion station in Vulcănești, works for the extension of the 400 kV substation in Vulcănești and for the modernization of the 330 kV substation in Chisinau. Funding will be provided from the € 260 million package in which the EBRD and the EIB participate, with loans of € 80 million each, and also the International Development Association (IDA, part of the World Bank), with a loan of € 61 million and EBRD, with a grant of 40 million euros.