Panama sanitation contract receives 3 bids

Panama's health ministry, through the coordinating unit of the country's sanitation program, received three bids for the contract to supervise the design, construction, operation and maintenance of a wastewater collection and treatment system for the two districts of Arraiján and La Chorrera in Panamá Oeste province.

Bidders include Consorcio Ayesa México, joint venture Nippon Koei Lac, and Asociación Temporal AECOM URS Holdings.

All technical proposals have been submitted to an evaluating committee for review, with the opening of the economic bids expected once the evaluation is completed.

The contract winner will provide management, technical assistance, and supervision services, which also involves the construction of a 1.35m3/s capacity wastewater treatment plant near the mouth of the Caimito river.

Related works the contract winner will also supervise include the construction of a 6km interceptor tunnel, four pumping stations, 300km of sewer networks and 60km of collectors, all of which are for cleaning up the sub-basins of the Aguacate, Bernardino, Prudente, Martín Sanchez, Rodeo, Caimito, Piedras, and Puerto Caimito rivers.

The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) will fund the eight-year contract with a reference price of US$24mn.

This tender is part of the first phase of the country's US$640mn Panamá Oeste sanitation program, which is an extension of the US$2bn Panama Bay sanitation program.