And although construction began on it in 2017, the station has yet to supply the intended 54 megawatts to Port Moresby, a city in desperate need of a reliable power feed.

 

Edevu has cost K650 million so far for the contractor, PNG Hydro Development, and the PNG government is contributing K120 million for the pylons 132kV line to be erected from Brown River to the National Capital District grid.

 

There was extensive media coverage of launching the Edevu hydropower reservoir impoundment.

 

"We worked hard on this project. Port Moresby, Central and NCD will benefit from it," PNG managing director Allan Guo said, adding that the project was a private investment aimed at supplying electricity to Port Moresby which faced constant power outages.

 

Chinese ambassador Zheng Fanhua said the project demonstrated Chinese confidence in PNG's long-term development and investment environment, adding that the dam had the potential to supply about 40% of electricity to Central and NCD.

 

The National newspaper reported that the project also employed more than 500 locals, built roads and bridges and paid royalties.

 

Attending the event, Prime Minister James Marape thanked Guo and his team, adding that the government hoped to have 70% of PNG connected to reliable energy by 2030.

 

Hydropower plants with large dams used to contain water in a reservoir are called impoundment facilities. The ability to store water is useful because the unit can then be controlled so that power is generated at times most advantageous to the system operator. Impoundment facilities often have large enough reservoirs to store water across months or even years and often significantly alter downstream river flow.