JV GeoEngineering/Hydrosphere of Georgia has been awarded a contract worth US$132,384 for topographic and bathymetric studies of waterways for the 245-MW Bardnili hydropower cascade.

The project, which sits on Georgia's Enguri River, consists of the 125-MW Vardnili 1, with Vardnili 2, 3 and 4 each contributing an additional 40 MW apiece.

Project operator Engurhesi Ltd. last sought bids for the work in March, which includes topographic and bathymetric surveys of:

• Gali Reservoir and definition of the reservoir volume-depth relationship;
  
• Cross-sections along the 23-kilometer channel from Vardnili 1 to the outfall at the Black Sea coast, requiring about 64 cross-sections in a channel typically 60 meters wide;
  
• The vicinity of the Vardnili cascade discharge channel at the Black Sea coast, including survey of the Black Sea bed up to 15 meters in depth, with some locations up to 80 meters in depth.

The work is to be completed within four months.