State-owned power utility in Brazil, Centrais Eletricas Brasileiras has signed an agreement with state-owned bank Caixa Economica Federal, to secure a BRL3.8bn ($1.9bn) loan, for the construction of 1,270MW Angra III nuclear plant in the country.
Eletrobras will use the loan to partly finance the development of the third thermonuclear plant at the company’s Angra dos Reis power station situated about 100km west of Rio de Janeiro.
Guaranteed by the federal government, the 20-year loan will be paid back for an interest rate of 6.5%, reported Reuters. Brazil’s state-owned development bank BNDES is also financing the nuclear project.
According to Eletronuclear, nuclear-power subsidiary of Eletrobras construction of the BRL10bn ($4bn) reactor is continuing for around three decades.
The second of two reactors based on Siemens AG technology, the Angra III reactor was designed to be built under a 1975 agreement with Germany.
Construction of Angra III began in 1984, was stopped in 1986, and was restarted in 2010 under an agreement with France-based Areva.