Tender reissued for lot-1 work of Tanahu hydel

Kathmandu, March 3

A bid has been called again for the construction of the first package of the 140-megawatt Tanahu Hydropower Project being developed by Tanahu Hydropower Ltd (THL). This is the third occasion on which developer has called a global tender to start lot-1 works of the project.

Earlier, THL had cancelled the construction agreement with Italian contractor Cooperativa Muratori CMC di Ravenna after the company did not start the work as per the agreement signed in March last year.

After that the THL had called a tender for the second time for the lot-1 works and four joint venture companies had filed their bids. However, all four applications were cancelled by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) — one of the donors of the project — for not meeting criteria of their procurement guidelines.

As the bids during the second time were also disqualified by ADB, the THL was compelled to open the tender for third time.

And the project is likely to miss the earlier completion deadline of 2023 due to this delay.

Earlier, THL had evaluated the technical bids submitted by the four aforementioned companies and forwarded the report to ADB. However, ADB had asked the project to cancel the process, citing the ineligibility of all the bidders. ADB had argued that the contractor companies that had placed their bids were not qualified.

As per the new tender, the company that is selected must construct a 140-metre-high concrete dam, coffer dam, complete head works and build two temporary diversion tunnels to divert the river. The interested construction firms have to submit their bids by April 13.

Earlier, THL had awarded the lot-2 works to a Chinese contractor firm called Sinohydro to build the power house and main tunnel. The lot-2 works also include hydromechanical and electromechanical works and installation and operation of necessary equipment.

The total cost of the project is estimated at $506 million, of which the ADB will provide $150 million, Japan International Cooperation Agency will contribute $184 million, European Investment Bank will give $85 million and Nepal Electricity Authority will chip in $87 million.