The hydropower plant is expected to be completed by the end of 2013, and could have an annual power generation of 467 GWh.

The Kargi hydropower plant will be located in the Corum province, northeast of the Turkish capital Ankara. The plant will utilise a part of Turkey's longest river, the Kizilirmak, which runs into the Black Sea.

"Constructing the Kargi hydropower plant is an exciting investment. It gives Statkraft a firm foothold in Turkey, a market with high economic growth, increasing energy needs and a major hydropower potential. Kargi is a profitable project which will provide Turkey and Europe with more clean energy. It will also create jobs and local development," says Øistein Andresen, Executive Vice President in charge of International Hydropower in Statkraft.