Russia’s Altai Republic has begun structuring plans with Russian and Chinese investors to build two major hydroelectric power stations, regional authorities said. The initiative, discussed during the Russian Energy Week conference, covers the construction of the Katun hydropower plant and the replacement of the decommissioned Chemal station.
Alexander Prokopyev, head of the regional government, stated that working groups are determining the formal structure for investor participation. Moscow has given preliminary federal clearance for the projects, directing the Russian Energy Ministry to include both facilities in the state energy development program by February 2027.
The Katun hydropower plant is planned as the larger of the two assets, with a projected capacity of 1,600 megawatts and expected annual output of 6 billion kilowatt-hours. Preliminary estimates by domestic power producer RusHydro place capital expenditure for Katun at 800 billion rubles (about $8.7 billion).
The smaller Chemal project will have a planned capacity of 300 megawatts. It is designed to replace a 1935 hydro facility that was shut down in 2011 following technical failures. RusHydro estimates the construction of the new Chemal plant will require 138 billion rubles.
With combined projected costs reaching roughly 938 billion rubles, regional officials noted that the scale of the investment requires syndicated financing involving domestic and foreign partners.
