Astaldi requests maximum subsidy for Punilla reservoir concession
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Astaldi, the only bidder for the Punilla reservoir concession project in the Bío-Bío Region, Chile, has requested the maximum subsidy for the project.
The Government of Chile opened the economic proposals for the project last week and Astaldi's economical proposal includes a subsidy of US$241 million and a 45 year concession period.
In December 2015, Chile's Ministry of Public Works (MOP) received only one proposal for the project. Astaldi was the only bidder from a total of nine teams that were shortlisted in September 2015. The technical proposal of Astaldi was sufficient to pass the technical requirements of the project.
The Government has to decide whether to accept or not the only proposal. Although the Minister of Public Works already said on Twitter that the Government will proceed to award the project to Astaldi.
The project involves the development of a 137 meters high dam and a 100 MW hydro power plant, which will produce about 470 GWH per year.
The project is expected to double the amount of irrigated lands to over 60,000 ha. It includes a reservoir with capacity of 625 million m³, which will be located 30 km from San Fabián de Alico. An 85% of the new water reservoir will be used to address irrigation needs while the remaining 15% will be used to produce energy.
The total project investment is estimated at US$500 million, of which US$350 million will be used for the development of the dam and the remaining US$150 million will fund the construction of the hydroelectric power plant.
The reservoir addresses the irrigation regulation and security needs of farmers in the area of the River Ñuble, including the Ñuble province and part of the San Carlos, Chillán, Ñiquén, San Nicolás, Coihueco and San Fabián de Alico municipal districts in the Bío-Bío Region.
In September 2015 we announced a few of the companies shortlisted had asked for more time to submit their proposals. After that, the deadline was delayed to December 2015, but finally only Astaldy submitted a proposal.
We have recently reported on several PPP projects in Chile:
