EPM qualifies sole bidder for Hidroituango works

Two of the three bids to complete construction work at Colombia's Hidroituango dam have been declared void, casting fresh doubt over a new tender process for the troubled project. 

Italian firm Todini Costruzioni Generali failed to comply with bank guarantee requirements while China Gezhouba Group was rejected for rules related to bid bonds and insurance, according to tender documents published by project owner Empresas Públicas de Medellín (EPM). 

The only eligible bid came from the CyS consortium comprising Chinese company Yellow River and local builder Schrader Camargo. The companies were participants in the Ituango PC-SC consortium – along with Power China Internacional – that presented the only bid in a previous tender for the works. 

The bid was declared void because the companies were deemed to have lacked the necessary experience. 

In April, EPM launched a new tender for the project with revamped rules, including a provision that allowed companies in a consortium to accredit their experience jointly under certain conditions.

It was not immediately clear when EPM would decide whether to award the contract to CyS. 

The successful company or consortium will be responsible for civil construction work on units 5 to 8 of the project, which will double its installed capacity to 2.4GW.

The project's first two turbines began operating in December and two more units are slated to come online later this year.  

Units 5 to 8 are on track to begin generating electricity in 2026 and 2027, according to EPM's chief executive Jorge Carrillo. 

Hidroituango has faced a series of construction problems that first became apparent when an auxiliary tunnel collapsed in April 2018, eight months before the plant was due to begin operating. 

The overall cost of the project is expected to reach 18tn pesos (around US$4bn) in a best-case scenario, representing an overrun of around 7tn pesos on its original budget.

The latest Hidroituango tender documents published by EPM, in Spanish, can be seen in the documents box in the top right corner of the screen.