Civil works tendered for Harpo project in Pakistan

Pakistan's Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA) invites pre-qualification bids by 14 September for the implementation of civil works and hydraulic steel structures for the Harpo hydropower project in the northern autonomous territory of Gilgit-Baltistan.

The 34.5 MW diversion project is to be built on the Harpo Nullah, a left tributary of the river Indus, about 75 km northwest of Skardu District. Two vertically arranged Pelton turbines are designed to generate average annual output of 170 GWh under a head of almost 750 m, with water from the Harpo River collected and transferred by a Tyrolean-type weir. The project is designed to prevent coarse bed load entering the intake. The project is also planned with a waterway with a double chamber desander, an open channel and a penstock for feeding the water to the powerhouse. The project also involves a new access road and a suspension bridge with a span of around 150 m across the Indus.

Funding for the entire project is being provided by the German development bank Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau and France’s Agence Française de Développement. Detailed engineering design was carried out by Tractebel Engineering and National Development Consultants of Pakistan.

The scope of works comprises five components:

(i) A weir structure consisting of a free over-flow section for flood discharge and a tyrolean weir section for water diversion to the power conduit system of the power generation plant;

(ii) A power conduit system comprising of concrete line power channel, a for bay structure with integrated desanding structure and overflow system, a 2 km-long low pressure buried penstock, a vertical steel line pressure shaft, a steel line high pressure tunnel with upstream manifold branches and a free flow tail race chute;

(iii) A surface powerhouse structure housing the two power generating units of 17.25 MW capacity each including auxiliary E&M systems, and

(iv) Hydraulic steel structure equipment for the entire hydropower station; and,

(v) Access facilities consisting of the construction of a suspension bridge across the river Indus and access road to the site as well as upgrading of unpaved track to the forebay and weir sites. The contracted works are expected to start in December 2022 and take up to four years.

Interested individual or joint venture applicants must have at least 10 years construction experience and specific experience of at least two contracts each with a value of at least €45 million similar in nature to the proposed civil works of which one outside of the applicants’ home country, and have international ESHS Certification and capacity for implementation of Environmental and social and health and safety management aspects related to projects of significant ESHS impact.

For further information contact:

Abdul Razzaq, General Manager/PD Projects N.A, WAPDA, GM/PD Projects liaison office, Room 167, Wapda House, Sharah-e-Quaid-e-Azam, Lahore, Punjab 54000, Pakistan

Tel.: +92 572640628;

Fax: +92 572640629;

E-mail: gmpna01@gmail.com