The total cost of the contract signed with the Indian company KEC International for the construction of a high-voltage transmission line Vulcanesti-Chisinau 400 kV is almost 27 million euros, but the cost of the project may increase.
This was announced by the Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Infrastructure and Regional Development of Moldova, Andrei Spinu, noting that, in particular, an increase in the price of metal on international markets could lead to this, since KEC International, like other participants in the tender, submitted its application a year ago when the market situation was different. Andrei Spinu noted that, according to the procedures of the World Bank, the practice of revising and adjusting the cost of projects financed by it is common for projects whose implementation period exceeds 2 years, and such a reassessment of the project can be made in the case of a project for the construction of a 400 kV Vulcanesti-Chisinau high-voltage transmission line if there is a noticeable difference from the original price of the metal included in the original project proposal. The Deputy Prime Minister noted that in general, 10 companies from Romania, Turkey, China, Russia, India and Kazakhstan submitted applications for the competition in November 2020. But 5 applications were initially rejected as not meeting the conditions of the competition or due to incorrect execution or lack of necessary documents. Subsequently, at the stage of technical evaluation of proposals due to technical inconsistencies, 2 more companies were suspended. Andrei Spinu explained that there were some questions to the remaining 3 tender participants, and he proposed to hold a new tender. But, taking into account the WB procedures and the fact that the identified deviations were insignificant, the WB representatives and experts considered that there was no need to hold a new tender and recognized the Indian company KEC International as the winner of the tender. A contract was signed with it, and it included nine additional mandatory conditions for this company, which must be taken into account at the design stage. At the same time, Andrei Spinu categorically rejected the accusations that the selected company offered dumping prices, and therefore its offer was declared the winner. He noted that the difference in price between KEC International and two other competitors in the tender was just over 30 thousand euros. The exact amount of the contract, proposed by KEC International, is 26.997 million euros, but, according to the World Bank procedure, subsequently, after 2 years, the value of the contract may be increased taking into account the difference in the cost of metal for power lines. Andrei Spinu specified that the length of the 400 kV Vulcanesti-Chisinau high-voltage transmission line will be 158 km. It should be built within 3 years and 4 months from the date of signing the contract. The Deputy Prime Minister noted that the matter concerns the introduction of an important infrastructure project to ensure the country's energy security, diversify the sources of electricity supply. “This project will increase the reliability of electricity supply, will allow to connect to the high-voltage networks of Romania and receive 600 MW of electricity through the Vulcanesti-Chisinau line. The total maximum demand for electricity in Moldova is 1100 MW, including 300 MW on the right bank of the Dniester, and 800 MW on the left. Moldova will become a part of the European market and will try to achieve lower and more competitive prices for electricity during tenders, ”said Andrei Spinu. Herewith, he clarified that now one should not speculate about possible prices, since it is difficult to predict what they will be in 4-5 years, when the power transmission line will be built. According to the Deputy Prime Minister, the Indian company KEC International, which won the tender, is a multinational company, one of the world's largest manufacturers of high-voltage transmission lines. It has completed dozens of contracts for the construction of power transmission lines in different regions of the world: in the UAE, Brazil, Mexico, India, China, Kazakhstan, Georgia, etc.// 15.11.2021 — InfoMarket
