News Desk
World review in brief from Issue One 2004…Work begins at KoldamWork has started on the main dam of the 800 MW Koldam hydro project, on the Satluj river in Himachal Pradesh, India.Jiroft dam is undamaged after Bam earthquakeA major earthquake, with a magnitude of 6.5 on the Richter scale, struck southeastern Iran on 26 December 2003, causing the loss of more than 40 000 lives and devastating the city of Bam. The 130 m-high Jiroft dam, the nearest large dam to the epicentre, has not been damaged. Eight groups qualify for Yacyretá upgradeEntidad Binacional Yacyretá , owner of the Yacyretá hydro project on the Argentina-Paraguay border, has qualified eight groups to participate in an international auction which is part of a project to increase capacity and add much needed supply to Argentina.Wapcos to study Budhi Gandaki in NepalIndia's State-owned Water & Power Consultancy Services (Wapcos) will prepare a detailed feasibility study for the 600 MW Budhi Gandaki hydro project in partnership with Nepalese officials.Major contract awarded for Eastmain IA C$ 108 million (about US$ 82 million) contract has been awarded for the construction of the Eastmain I hydro plant in northern Québec, Canada.NHPC awards Subansiri contractIndia's National Hydroelectric Power Corporation (NHPC) has awarded a civil works contract worth Rs 9.21 billion (US$ 200.2 million) for the 2000 MW Subansiri Lower hydro project.Chalillo project gets the green lightThe UK's Privy Council has ruled that construction work can move forward at the 7.3 MW Chalillo hydro project in Belize, Central America. NHPC awards Sewa II contractsConstruction contracts for the 120 MW Sewa II hydro plant in Jammu and Kashmir, India, have been awarded to local companies. Mostarsko Blato goes ahead in BosniaThe Ministy of Energy, Mining and Industry of the Federation of Bosnia & Herzegovina will support the construction of the Mostarsko Blato hydro plant.Austria tenders small plantThe rgional power utility of Salzburg has announced plans to develop a new 7.5 MW hydro plant at Hallein in Austria.New bid invited for Cleuson-Dixence penstockGrande-Dixence SA and EOS SA, owners of the 1269 MW Cleuson-Dixence hydro station in Switzerland, have invited bids for the engineering services for repair of the plant's existing penstock and for the new one which will be added.Serbia's EPS seeks Pirot bidsSerbia's State power utility Elektroprivreda Srbije (EPS) has issued a general procurement notice for equipment and services to increase capacity at the Pirot hydro plant, as part of its emergency power sector rehabilitation programme. Himachal Pradesh invite bids for nine projectsThe Government of Himachal Pradesh, India, invites proposals from eligible bidders for the implementation of the nine hydro projects (totalling 365.5 MW) on a build, own, operate and maintain basis.NHPC invites pre-qualification for four schemesIndia's National Hydroelectric Power Corporation (NHPC) has invited pre-qualification offers for construction works for a further four hydro projects (totalling 1991 MW).Full details of all these stories and many others are in the news section of Issue One.Ensure that you recieve the Hydropower & Dams journal!To order a subscription contact Mrs Maria Flintan subs@hydropower-dams.com