Mecamidi wants 4 joint ventures

The French at Mecamidi want to team up with Hidroelectrica and establish four joint ventures to operate the hydropower projects wherein they are interested on the Romanian market. At the same time, Italy-based Enel and Romanian Neptun Campina are each discussing the establishment of a joint venture with Hidroelectrica. “Mecamidi intends to have one joint venture for each project, so that there will be four such entities in the end,” said Nicolae Paunescu, director of Hidroelectrica’s general secretariat. The French will hold at least 51% in the joint ventures, as will the other investors now discussing the same issue, that is Enel and Neptun Campina. Mecamidi is now conducting the feasibility study for the selected projects, which will pinpoint the level of necessary investments. Preliminary estimates show them to be somewhere in the neighbourhood of $68 million, while more recent data point to $150 million, Hidroelectrica sources say. ZF