As fights between government forces and the rebels intensified in southeastern Turkey, Statkraft stated in its quarterly results it decided to suspend most of the construction works for the Çetin hydropower plants on the Botan river.
The two facilities planned for total capacity of 517 MW are the Norwegian company’s biggest project outside the home market. It is located in provinces of Siirt and Bitlis.
Statkraft said it wrote off NOK 2.09 billion (EUR 220 million) from assets due to overall uncertainty about the endeavour, with almost two thirds attributed to depreciation, and the rest to operating expences. This brought the total net loss for last year to EUR 250 million.
The Kargı Kızılırmak hydropower plant of 102 MW, located in Çorum province at the Black Sea region, was inaugurated in August. Starkraft’s head Christian Rynning-Tønnesen attended the ceremony with Taner Yıldız, Turkish energy minister at the time.
