EPM Ituango Moves Forward with Colombia's 2,400-Megawatt Hydroelectric Project

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--During July, the major Colombian utility Empresas Publicas de Medellin E.S.P. (EPM) (Medellin, Colombia) reached major landmarks in the bidding process for services and equipment for its 2,400-megawatt (MW) Ituango hydro project, which is to be built on the Cauca River in the Antioquia Department.

Since the start of the month, EPM, through its subsidiary EPM Ituango S.A. E.S.P. (Medellin), has made three calls for tender for the acquisition of major equipment. On July 3, it released bid documents for the supply of two overhead cranes; on July 17, it released bid documents for the provision gates for deviation, adduction and aspiration works; and for the supply of 25 transformers on the 23. All contracts include the supply and the supervision for the assembly and installation.

Also, on July 18, EPM concluded the technical, legal and financial evaluation of the proposals for the main civil works (dam, underground powerhouse and associated equipment). In October 2011, EPM launched an international bidding process for these works and four firms' submitted proposals:

• CCC Ituango Consortium, formed by Construçoes e Comercio Camargo Correa S.A. (Sao Paulo, Brazil) (55%) and Conconcreto S.A. (Medellin) (35%) and Coninsa Ramon H. S.A. (Medellin) (10%)
• A.O.C.O. Temporary Consortium, formed by the Spanish Acciona Infraestructuras S.A. (Madrid, Spain) (51%) and Obras Subterráneas S.A. (Madrid) (10%), Brazilian Construtora OAS Ltda. (Sao Paulo) (10%) and Colombian Construcciones El Condor S.A. (Medellin) (29%)
• OMS Ituango Consortium, formed by Construtora Norberto Odebrecht S.A. (Sao Paulo) (75%), Mincivil S.A. (Chia, Colombia) (15%) and CSS Constructores S.A. (Bogota, Colombia) (10%)
• Pescadero Ituango Consortium, formed by Construtora Andrade Gutierrez S.A. (Belo Horizonte, Brazil) (60%), Impregilo S.p.A. (30%) (Milan, Italy) and Conciviles S.A. (Bogota) (10%)

EPM will receive comments on the evaluations from the participants and will conduct a public hearing. The contract awarding is expected for August.

At the moment, EPM Ituango also is evaluating 12 proposals received for the supply of the eight hydro turbine generator sets and related auxiliary equipment. Among the companies participating are Voith Hydro GnBH (Heidenheim, Germany), Andritz Hydro Gmbh (Graz, Austria), Alstom (ENX:ALO) (Levallois-Perret, France) and Industrias Metalurgicas Pescarmona SAICyF (Godoy Cruz, Argentina). The winner should be announced in October.

Ituango hydro projects is owned by the mixed-capital company Hidroelectrica Ituango S.A. E.S.P. (Medellin), which signed a 50-year BOOMT contract with EPM Ituango in March 2011.

The facility will be constructed in two phases of 1,200 MW each. During the first one (expected to be operational in 2018), all the civil works will be constructed but only the half of the turbines will be installed. The second phase will consist in the installation of the remaining turbines and their auxiliary equipment. When completed, Ituango Hydro will be the major hydro plant in Colombia. The total investment is estimated to be $5 billion.

At the moment, a consortium formed by Ferrovial Agroman Chile S.A. (Santiago, Chile) and Sainc Ingenieros Constructores S.A. (Cali, Colombia) is building the deviation works and the underground powerhouse's access.

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