Peru's investment board has said in a statement that China's Electric Power Technology & Export Corporation and a group including Peru's Construccion y Administracion, Ecuador's Hidalgo & Hidalgo, and Argentina's Conivial have expressed interest in bidding for the Olmos hydro project concession.
The hydroelectric project, some 780km north of the capital Lima, will generate 2400GWh a year in its initial stage and will help irrigate 60,000ha of farmland. It is anticipated that the developer will need to invest about US$700M to complete the project.
Others who have signed up for bidding are Brazil's Norberto Odebrech, France's Bouygues Travaux Publics (BOUY), Italy's Impreglio SpA (IPGI) and the Transandino group, comprising Argentina's Cartellone and its Peruvian unit, Sweden's Skanska and Peru's JJ Camet Contratistas Generales; Spain's Obrascon Huarte Lain (OHL), Germany's Zublin and the UK's Knight Piesold; and French Suez Lyonnaise des Eaux (LYOE) and GTM Groupe.
The government of Peru has said the Olmos concession will likely be for 40 years. The project will entail diverting waters to the Olmos river, in the Pacific watershed, that now flow to the Atlantic Ocean.
