It is expected that the plant, introduced as the continent's largest, will boast an installed capacity of 100 MW after completion of the two planned construction phases.
The head of the JICA, Hirofumi Matsuyama, who participated in the recent Seminar on Development of Strategic Sectors in Bolivia, held over two days by the Japanese Embassy and attended by a delegation of 40 public officials, entrepreneurs and scientists, said the loan will be for ten years and will accrue interest at a rate of 0.6%.
"This loan is divided into two parts. The first will be for 260 million dollars," said Matsuyama. He also announced that the first phase of construction of the geothermal plant would begin in 2011 and that the loan is the largest Japan has ever awarded to Bolivia. Trained JICA staff have also offered to assist in the construction of the plant, which the JICA Director explained could be completed between 2014 and 2016 and will consist of four turbines of 25 MW each.
An electric car factory too?
During a meeting with Japanese experts and authorities, Bolivia’s President, Evo Morales, also proposed a "strategic alliance" with Japan involving Toyota manufacturing electric cars fitted with Lithium batteries in Bolivia.
However, during the seminar Morales made it clear that Bolivia has a long way to go before iut can industrialise its lithium, in fact, it has been building a pilot plant since 2009. Furthermore, it is not clear how the country will start manufacturing batteries using this metal in the medium term, let alone electric cars.
Japan’s Vice Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry, Kaname Tajima, who was part of the Japanese delegation, explained that his country took 60 years after World War II to reach its current level of electric car production.
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