Pakistan’s Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA) seeks to engage qualified consulting firm(s) and/or joint venture(s) to assist with the capacity enhancement of the Chitral hydropower station in the northwestern province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa from 1 to 5 MW.
The existing 1 MW Chitral hydropower plant, on the right bank of the river Lutkho, was commissioned in June 1975, and after 45 years of operation requires increasingly frequent maintenance with high O&M costs; as a result, it is mostly offline. In addition, all the mechanical and electrical equipment is operated manually causing a number of operational problems. The plant, which comprises two units of 200 kW and two units of 300 kW that were manufactured by Osberger, generates from the diversion of the water flow of the river Lutkho through a 3.72 km-long channel. Increasing the installed capacity will entail diverting a higher portion of the river flow towards the channel, according to the terms of reference. Although increased diversion may not significantly affect the flow of the river in high flow seasons, additional investigation on acceptable minimum river flows are required to mitigate the environmental and social impacts of water diversion especially in low flow seasons. The outcome of these investigations should be taken into account in the detail design of the powerplant, it said.
The consulting services will entail initially the preparation of additional environmental and social assessments, and then, under a lump-sum contract over 16 months, a review of the tender design report/feasibility report, preparation of detailed design and tender documents, and support to WAPDA for tender evaluation and contract negotiations according to AFD guidelines. Under a subsequent time-based works contract, which is expected to take 27 months, the consultant will be required to provide expert assistance to WAPDA throughout the project, supervision of testing and commissioning, monitoring the implementation of the environmental and social management plan, which will require particular emphasis on safety issues, and provide expert assistance to WAPDA for fulfilling their reporting duties on project progress, financial progress, social and environmental measures and so on to the AFD.
The contract and project is to be financed by the French development agency, L’Agence Française de Développement (AFD). RfPs from consulting firm(s) and/or joint venture(s) are required to comply with Pakistan Engineering Council by-laws for registration and forming joint ventures. Local firms must be on the Active Tax Payer List of the Federal Board of Revenue Pakistan. The tender will be carried out as a single stage, two envelope procedure, with bids to be evaluated on a quality and cost basis. Consultants are invited to submit technical and financial proposals for the assignment.
The RfP document (containing detailed terms and conditions, evaluation criteria and so on) can be downloaded for free from tenders.afd.dgmarket.com and www.wapda.gov.pk, or obtained directly from the office of the General Manager (Hydel) Development, WAPDA. The tender notice can be viewed on the websites of the AFD and WAPDA. Clarifications may be requested no later than 15 days prior to the deadline.
For further information, contact: Javed Akhtar, General Manager (Hydel) Development, WAPDA, 104 Wapda House, Lahore, Punjab 54000; Tel: +92 42 99202189; Fax: +92 42 36369004; Email: gmhydeldev@hotmail.com. A copy of the proposal must also be submitted before or by the same date as the submission of proposal to Mr Nauman Bhutta, Agence Française Développement, AFD Islamabad Office C/o Embassy of France, Diplomatic Enclave G-5, Islamabad, Pakistan; Tel: +92 51 2011517.
