Proposals are invited by 21 November from qualified individual consulting firms or a consortium of consultancies. The consulting firm shall be recruited through international competitive bidding based on the QCBS method.
DGPC and Tata Power, one of India’s largest integrated power companies, entered into a strategic partnership in July of this year to construct the 600 MW project, formerly known as the Kholongchhu hydropower station. DGPC holds a 60 per cent equity stake while Tata Power has a 40 per cent stake.
The project cost, including financing charges, is estimated at approximately Bhutanese Ngultrum 70 billion (US$ 832.6 million), with a construction timeline of five years. With support from the Governments of Bhutan and India, all statutory approvals are in place for construction to commence.
This collaboration builds on an existing alliance between DGPC and Tata Power for the 126 MW Dagachhu hydro plant in Bhutan. KHPL is to enter into long-term Power Purchase Agreements with Tata Power Trading Corporation, a wholly owned subsidiary of Tata Power, for export of summer surplus electricity to the Indian market and with Bhutan Power Corporation for domestic power sales during the winter.
The project, to be located on the lower reaches of the Kholongchhu, just before its convergence with the Drangmechu, envisages a concrete gravity dam, with a height of 95 m above the deepest foundation level, to direct water from the Kholongchhu into the project’s water conduction system. The hydraulic circuit is designed to entail two 350 m-long, D-shaped underground desilting chambers, a 16.3 km-long horseshoe-shaped headrace tunnel with a diameter of 5.7 m to convey a design discharge of 89 m3/s through a 163 m-high, 9.5 m diameter underground surge shaft and a 1535 m-long, 3.3 m diameter pressure shaft into an underground powerhouse that is to be equipped with four 150 MW units, each with Pelton turbines. The project is designed to generate an average annual output of 2569 GWh.
The detailed scope of services is outlined in the Terms of Reference, in Section VII of the Request for Proposals (RFP) Document. Interested bidders are requested to submit their proposals, which must include all required documents and information as specified in the Bid Data Sheet. Proposals should be submitted no later than 21 November 2024, by 15:00 hours BST, and will be opened on the same day.
The RFP Document can be downloaded, free of cost, on the websites of KHPL at: https://www.khepbhutan.com or on that of DGPC at www.drukgreen.bt. Bidders downloading the RFP Document should register with KHPL before the deadline for submission of proposals. All clarifications should be in writing and submitted in PDF format to the email below.
For further information, contact: Chief (Contracts), Procurement & Contracts Division, Khorlochhu Hydro Power Limited, Post Box 46001, Chorten Kora, Trashi Yangtse, Bhutan; Email: chief.pnc@khepbhutan.com; Website: https://www.khepbhutan.com
