Georgia's Ministry of Energy invites applications for pre-qualification to develop the Upper Mtkvari Cascade of two to three hydropower plants totaling from 137 MW to 219 MW. Responses are due April 28, 2010.
The hydropower projects are to be developed on a build-own-operate basis (BOO) on the Mtkvari River in Georgia's Samtskhe-Javakheti Region. In 2009, developer Mtkvari HPP LLC invited expressions of interest in another project on the river, the 38- to 42-MW Mtkvari project, among 78 that the Ministry of Energy has proposed on a BOO basis. (HydroWorld 7/2/09)
The ministry said Poyry Hydropower Engineering oversaw a technical and economic pre-feasibility study of Upper Mtkvari Cascade. The projects have a preliminary cost of between US$410 million and US$604 million. They are expected to generate an average of 714 gigawatt-hours to 1,205 GWh.
The winning bidder would receive the exclusive right to undertake a full technical and economic feasibility study and an environmental and social impact assessment. It also would have the right to determine the final design of the hydro plants, subject to certain legislative and regulatory requirements, and to build them following completion of the studies.
The winning bidder would be required to sell at least 100 GWh to any buyers in Georgia during the winter months, October-March. Any additional power could be sold anywhere within or outside Georgia, including sales to Turkey via a transmission line that is under construction.
Solicitation documents may be obtained from the Ministry of Energy Internet site, www.minenergy.gov.ge, or a special site created for the Upper Mtkvari Cascade project, www.uppermtkvaricascade.com.
Applications for pre-qualification are due by 5 p.m. Georgia time April 28 to Ministry of Energy, Baratashvili Street No. 2, Tbilisi, Georgia. Pre-qualified firms will be invited to submit bids during a 70-day bidding process.
For information, contact Mariam Valishvili, First Deputy Minister of Energy, Ministry of Energy of Georgia, (995) 77960505, E-mail: marika.valishvili@minenergy.gov.ge, uppermtkvaricascade@minenergy.gov.ge; or Bjorn Brandtzaeg, Project Manager, Econ Poyry, (47) 98263955, E-mail: uppermtkvaricascade@minenergy.gov.ge; Internet site, www.minenergy.gov.ge.
For more hydropower tenders, click here.
