Bolivia and China strengthen ties through hydropower cooperation

Bolivian President Evo Morales and Chinese ambassador to Bolivia Liang Yu attended the operation ceremony of the San Jose I Hydropower station on Jan 17, the station was built by the POWERCHINA to address the chronic water shortage in Cochabamba city, capital of Bolivia‘s Cochabamba province.

"The past few years have witnessed a strong relationship between our two countries and the bilateral cooperation has been steadily promoted in various fields. Hydropower as a clean energy is not only cost effective but also beneficial to our economic development. The San Jose Hydropower station will boost local employment and improve living standards," Liang told officials and guests at the ceremony.

"China will continue to help Bolivia to implement its strategy of becoming the 'energy center in South America'. We will strengthen cooperation in various fields under the Belt and Road Initiative, and push for deeper bilateral relations," Liang added.

Chinese ambassador to Bolivia, Liang Yu, delivers a speech at the opening ceremony of the San Jose I project. [Photo/POWERCHINA]

Morales visited the project several times during its construction. He expressed his satisfaction of the project at the ceremony.

On December 3, 2015, Bolivian President Evo Morales visited the SAN Jose Hydropower station built by the POWERCHINA. [Photo/POWERCHINA]

Bolivian President Evo Morales delivers a speech at the opening ceremony of San Jose I project. [Photo/POWERCHINA]

"The project will help our country to optimize our energy structure and enhance our power export capacity, providing a strong backup for the implementation of the 'South American energy centers' strategy in Bolivia," Morales said.

He added that Bolivia is deeply grateful for the efforts and contributions from Chinese side and is committed to maintaining closer ties with China to deepen cooperation, so as to benefit the two countries and the two peoples.

Plant of the San Jose I Hydropower project [Photo/POWERCHINA]

The San Jose I Hydropower station, with a total investment of $139 million and a total installed capacity of 55 megawatts, is expected to save Bolivia $6 million electricity costs every year.