RUSAL and RusHydro Agree on Major Issues on Launching Boguchanskaya HPP Ahead of Schedule

Moscow, 27 August 2009 – RUSAL and RusHydro, the partners in the BEMO project, held an extended meeting to discuss the launching of the Boguchanskaya HPP, part of the BEMO project, ahead of schedule.

In particular, the parties agreed to hold a tender in September for construction and installation works. The tender aims to improve the contractors’ performance by replacing or reinforcing subcontractors which exceed their budgets or lag behind the approved schedule. We hope that the tender which is expected to be completed by the end of September will be organised in compliance with all legal requirements. Following a fair and unbiased selection process, the winning bidders should help to expedite the construction of the hydro power plant.

RUSAL holds a constructive position on the acceleration of construction. It fully supports the initiative to speed up the launch of the plant and expects that RusHydro, as the organiser of construction, will put forward specific proposals to make an early start-up possible and a detailed schedule of required design and construction milestones.

RUSAL insists on a number of adjustments to be made to the HPP construction project to increase the safety of the project in light of the accident at the Sayano-Shushenskaya HPP. The additional measures should minimise the risk of accidents and reduce the scale of destruction in the event of an emergency.
RUSAL and RusHydro are planning to ask the Russian Government for assistance in obtaining long-term project financing from state-owned banks required to speed up the construction of the Boguchanskaya HPP.