On March 26, China and Honduras established diplomatic relations. Prior to the establishment of diplomatic ties between the two countries, the Chinese hydropower builders forged a profound friendship with the Honduran people.
As a natural extension of the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road, Latin America has become an indispensable and important participant in the construction of the “the Belt and Road”. Sinohydro Corporation of China came to this inconspicuous Central American country located between the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea and built the first large-scale hydropower project in Honduras in 30 years – the Patuka III hydropower station. In 2019, construction of the Arena Hydropower Station began again. The two hydropower stations have brought the hearts and minds of the people of the two countries closer and witnessed the profound friendship between the two peoples.
Honduras Patuka III Hydropower Station Project is located 50 kilometers south of the capital of Orlando, Juticalpa, and about 200 kilometers away from the capital, Tegucigalpa. The hydropower station was officially started on September 21, 2015, and the construction of the main project was completed in early 2020. On December 20, the same year, grid connected power generation was achieved. After the hydropower station is put into operation, the average annual power generation is expected to reach 326 GWh, providing 4% of the country’s power system, further alleviating the power shortage in Honduras and injecting new impetus into the local economic development.
This project has extraordinary significance for Honduras and China. This is the first large-scale hydropower project to be constructed in Honduras in the past 30 years, and it is also the first time that China has used Chinese financing for a project in a country that has not yet established diplomatic relations. The construction of the project has created a precedent for Chinese enterprises to use the buyer’s credit model under national sovereign guarantee to promote project implementation in countries without diplomatic relations.
The Patuka III hydropower station in Honduras has received high attention from the government and society of the country. Local media say that the project has performed well and is of great significance, and will be recorded in the annals of Honduras. During the construction process, the Project Department continues to promote localized construction to enable local employees participating in the construction to master a skill set. Actively fulfilling the social responsibilities of central enterprises, donating construction materials and learning and sports supplies to local schools, repairing roads for local communities, etc., has received high attention and multiple reports from local mainstream newspapers, and has won a good reputation and reputation for Chinese enterprises.
The good performance of Patuka III hydropower station has enabled Sinohydro to win the construction of Arena hydropower station. Arena Hydropower Station is located on the YAGUALA River in Yoro Province, northern Honduras, with a total installed capacity of 60 megawatts. The project was commenced on February 15, 2019, the dam closure was completed on April 1, the dam foundation concrete was poured on September 22, and the water was successfully stored on October 26, 2021. On February 15, 2022, the Arena Hydropower Station successfully signed the provisional handover certificate. On April 26, 2022, the open overflow surface of the hydropower project dam successfully overflowed, and the dam impoundment was successfully completed, further enhancing the influence and credibility of Chinese enterprises in the Honduran market, laying a solid foundation for Sinohydro to further tap the Honduran market.
In 2020, in the face of the global COVID-19 and the once-in-a-century double hurricanes, the project will achieve the normalization and grid management of epidemic construction, dredge the collapsed roads, and donate concrete for the local government to build roads, so as to minimize the disaster losses. The Project Department actively promotes localization construction, continuously increasing the training and use of foreign executives and local foremen, emphasizing the optimization and training of local engineers and foremen, giving full play to the advantages of localization management mode, and creating employment opportunities for the local community.
With a distance of over 14000 thousand kilometers and a 14 hour time difference, the friendship extended by the two peoples cannot be separated. Before the establishment of diplomatic relations, the two hydropower stations witnessed the friendship between China and Honduras. It is conceivable that in the future, more Chinese builders will come here to depict this beautiful country on the Caribbean coast with the local people.
Post time: Mar-31-2023
