14 groups eyeing Panama power transmission project

Two dozen companies participated in field visits this month as part of Panamanian state power transmission company Etesa’s call to increase the capacity of a 316km line.

The potential bidders to overhaul the 230kV Veladero-San Bartolo-Llano Sánchez-El Coco-Panamá II link are Kalpataru Power Transmission, Fuente Grande Internacional, CET Panama, Celmec, Edemtec, Serintra and Powerchina.

The other firms are Grupo Matipsa, Arendal, Iverco, Lim Panama Construction, Grupo Cobra, T&C and Elecnor.

The project will boost dispatch of the national interconnected system from the west of the country, home to hydropower potential.

Offers for the US$37.1mn, 600-day contract are due on February 22.

FOURTH TRANSMISSION LINE

Meanwhile, Etesa information shows that none of the four groups that submitted offers to prepare the environmental impact study for the country’s fourth main transmission line fulfilled 100% of the minimum obligatory requirements.

The bidders for the US$4.2mn, one-year contract were Consorcio Proyeco Diceasa Socioambiental, Consultores Ambientales y Multiservicios, Typsa and URS Holdings.

The tender is currently in the appeals stage.

The 330km, 500kV Chiriquí Grande-Panamá III link will cross the provinces of Bocas del Toro, Veraguas, Colón, Coclé and Panamá, as well as the Ngäbe Buglé indigenous reserve, and initially operate at 230kV. The estimated investment is US$500mn.

The government plans to offer the double circuit, 900-tower project under a public-private partnership.