Tanahun Hydropower Dam Construction Contract to Vietnamese-Nepali JV Company

KATHMANDU: TUESDAY, MARCH 23, 2021 – A purchase agreement has been signed for the construction of the first package of the 140 MW Tanahun Hydropower Project under the Tanahun Hydropower Project.

A purchase agreement was signed on Monday between Song Da Corporation, a joint venture of Vietnam-Kalika Construction Pvt. The agreement has been signed by Managing Director Pradip Kumar Thike on behalf of Tanahun Hydropower Limited and Bikram Pandey on behalf of Song Da Kalika JV.

A purchase agreement has been signed with the company for Rs 16.62 billion (excluding provisional sum and value added tax).

Arrangement has been made for the contractor company to complete the construction work within 57 months (4 years and 9 months) of the implementation of the purchase agreement, said Managing Director Thike.

The company had re-invited bids on 12 Baisakh 2076 for the construction of Package 1 (headworks) of the project after the cancellation of the purchase agreement with the construction company CMC de Ravenna, Italy on 15 Asoj 2075. The company rejected all the bids as none of the technical bids received in the bidding process were essentially effective and re-invited bids for the second time on 16 Falgun 2076 as per the procurement guidelines of the Asian Development Bank.

Bids were repeatedly extended due to the nationwide embargo issued by the Government of Nepal and restrictions on international flights to prevent and control the global Covid-19 epidemic. Finally, after evaluating the technical bids submitted by three international bidders, the financial bids of the two most influential bidders were opened. After the evaluation of the financial bids, the purchase agreement has been signed by approving the bids of Song Da Kalika JV, which has the lowest value.

The construction of the second package of the project including tunnel, construction of power house and supply, connection and operation of hydromechanical and electromechanical equipment is underway. The contractor company has completed the excavation of the cable tunnel and in addition to the excavation of the underground power house, the access tunnel to the surge tank and the access tunnel to the right of the Seti river leading to the dam are being constructed.

Under the third package of the project, construction of 220 KV double circuit transmission line from Damauli to Bharatpur of Chitwan is underway.

The total cost of the company’s capital structure and financial management project (including transmission line, rural electrification and construction period interest) is US $505 million, ADB 150 million, Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) 184 million and European Investment Bank 80 million. 5 million and the Government of Nepal / Nepal Electricity Authority has been financed 86 million dollars.