Two international companies have submitted bids for the electro-mechanical and hydro-mechanical contract of the Tanahu Hydroelectric Project which is being developed by Tanahu Hydro Limited (THL), a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA).

Only two out of the three prequalified companies, CMC Ravenna of Italy and Sinohydro Corporation Limited of China, tendered for the contract during the final bidding process which ended last week, according to THL.

The winning contractor will implement the second package of the project which includes construction of waterway and powerhouse and installation of related equipment at the 140 MW storage-type scheme being built on the Seti River.

THL has started evaluating the technical proposal of the bidders with the help of project consultant Lahmeyer International. 

After completing the technical evaluation, THL will forward it to the Japan International Cooperation Agency (Jica), the lending agency for the construction of the second package of the project. 

“We will send our evaluation to Jica within two months for its comment and approval,” said Sachen Gautam, communication expert with the project office. “After evaluating the technical proposal, we will evaluate the financial proposal before awarding the contract.” 

Currently, THL is also evaluating the technical proposal submitted by China Gezhouba Group Corporation of China, CMC Ravenna of Italy and Jay Prakash Associates of India for the construction of the first package of the project which includes detailed design and construction of the headworks.

The project is planning to award both contracts soon so that construction work can start in October. 

Meanwhile, THL has been issuing compensation payments to private landowners in Tanahu district. It has already distributed more than 50 percent of the land compensation amount to locals. 

The project is planning to complete the compensation distribution by the beginning of the next fiscal year. According to an estimate made by the project, it will cost around Rs600 million to acquire 1,200 ropanis of land required to build the project.

The government has allocated Rs2.76 billion for the development of the project in the budget for fiscal 2017-18. 

When completed, the Tanahu Hydroelectric Project will be one of the biggest storage-type projects in the country with an estimated annual energy generation capacity of 587.7 GWh for the first 10 years of its operation. 

The plant can generate energy for six hours daily during the dry season. 

The project is being co-funded by the Asian Development Bank, Jica and European Investment Bank.