Contractors will be given a crack at bidding for a 27km water supply tunnel, part of Nepal’s $400M Melamchi water supply scheme, when the Melamchi Water Development Board (MWDB) invites firms to prequalify in September.
Dinesh Chandra Pyakurel, MWDB executive director, said shortlists of contractors will be drawn up by next February, ready for tenders to be invited for two tunnel contracts.
“One of the packages will be for contractors from Norway, Sweden and Nepal while the other package will be for international bidding,” said Mr Pyakurel. He said this reflects that Norway and Sweden have together contributed nearly $50M towards the cost of the scheme. The package is being financed by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) which has loaned US$120M.
Norway’s development agency, NORAD, has approved a $24.7M loan, while the Swedish International Development Agency (SIDA) has just given the green light to a $25M advance.
Tunnel construction is expected to begin in April 2002 with completion in about five years.
