Mumbai/Kolkata, March 24 (IANS): Indian electric utility company Tata Power on Tuesday said it has completed the financial closure to develop a hydel-power project in the Adjaristsqali river in the southwestern European nation of Georgia alongwith two other companies.

"The Shuakhevi plant aims to satisfy Georgia's electricity demand during winter, reducing dependence on imported fuel and increasing renewable energy output. It will also foster cross-border electricity trading at other times of the year by exporting electricity to Turkey through a transmission line financed by EBRD," the company said in a statement.

As per the company, International Finance Corporation (IFC), part of World Bank, along with Asian Development Bank (ADB) and European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has arranged the largest-ever private hydropower investment in the former Soviet republic amounting to $400 million through project financing.

"Adjaristsqali Georgia is a joint venture between Tata Power and Norway's Clean Energy Invest (40 percent each), and IFC (20 percent). This project will help Georgia achieve energy self-sufficiency," it said.

The Indian power company said this is the first hydro-power project in Georgia certified by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change for carbon emission reductions and is expected to produce about 450 GW hours of power annually and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by more than 200,000 tons per year.

"The project will develop the 187-megawatt Shuakhevi hydropower scheme, consisting of the Shuakhevi and Skhalta hydropower plants located in the Adjara region, in southwest Georgia", the company said.

Tata Power recently commissioned the second 126 MW Dagachhu hydro project in Bhutan.