A single stage tender procedure will follow the prequalification procedure with shortlisted bidders to be invited to submit final bids by 1 May 2023. The contract works will include approximately 42 km of access road, nine bridges, the permanent operator’s village with six buildings on an area of 7701 m2 and all ancillary and related works, including the access road and its disposal area to access the inlet of the TBM portal and further to the surge tank of the main EPC works. Applicants may be a private or government-owned entity or any combination of such entities in the form of a joint venture, consortium, or association.
The contract will be modelled on FIDIC Conditions of Contract for EPC/Turnkey Project, First Edition, 1999. Preparatory works are being tendered and undertaken separately to the main EPC works. JSC Nenskra Hydro is in negotiation on the terms and conditions of the EPC contract with its preferred bidder on the main aspects of the project, which include a 130 m-high rockfill dam with asphaltic face on the Nenskra river, a 15 km-long headrace tunnel, a surface powerhouse and a 9 m-high concrete weir on the Nakra river. Construction of the US$ 1.1 billion project, which is to be located on the upper Nenskra, the largest tributary of the Inguri river, in the region of Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti, is expected to be co-financed by multilateral development banks on a non-recourse or limited basis.
JSC Nenskra Hydro said it is in negotiation with the European Investment Bank, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, Asian Development Bank, Asia Infrastructure Investment Bank, the Korea Development Bank and K-Sure to secure financing for the project. The project is to be developed under a 36-year Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) concession by a consortium led by K-Water with the Partnership Fund of Georgia, a state-run asset management and investment fund.
The winning contractor will be required to complete all preparatory works within a period of 12 months from contract signing, and for these works to be commenced on or before the start of the main EPC works. The preparatory works are to be effective and implemented once the employer obtains financing and issues Notice to Proceed (NTP), which are expected, subject to ongoing legal challenges, in mid-2023.
Nenskra Hydro is currently subject to two injunctions relating to the project, issued by Georgian courts by the former enabling works contractor, under which it is prohibited from using its tunnel boring machines, and from entering into a contract with a third party for the preparatory works. Nenskra Hydro said it has taken steps in the Georgian courts to lift the injunctions.
The full procurement notice can be viewed at: http://nenskra.ge. To obtain a complete set of prequalification documents and for all further information, contact: Juwon Lee, JSC Nenskra Hydro, N34, Ilia Chavchavadze Avenue, Tbilisi 0179, Georgia.
Email: juwon.lee@nenskrahydro.ge and kyoungmin.park@nenskrahydro.ge.
