Civil works tendered for rehabilitation of Contador, São Tomé

The Fiduciary Agency for Project Administration of the Ministry of Planning, Finance and the Blue Economy of the Democratic Republic of São Tomé and Principe invites sealed bids by 22 April for the design and undertaking of civil works related to the rehabilitation and expansion of the 4 MW Contador hydro plant on São Tomé, the larger of the country’s two main islands.

An overhaul of the run-of-river plant, which is being co-financed by the World Bank under the Power Sector Recovery Project, is considered critical, given its importance as a source of renewable electricity for the country and the need to reduce power production from imported fossil fuels for both financial and environmental reasons.

The plant, located in Roça Ponta Figo, has been in operation for about 50 years, and as a result of poor maintenance only about 2 MW of its capacity is operating. At full capacity, the plant accounts for 11 per cent of the country’s firm energy. The rehabilitation and extension of the plant is designed to increase the conveyance capacity of the system and storage capacity at the forebay for peak load demand, and increase the plant’s installed capacity.

The ‘Request for Proposal Document’, in English, can be purchased on submission of a written application to the address below and on payment of a non-refundable fee of €200 via bank transfer to the Banco Internacional de Sao Tome e Principe (BISTP), Account 251106310002, IBAN: ST 23000200010251106310166, SWIFT: INOISTST. All proposals must be accompanied by a bid security of US$ 225 000.

A site visit will be held on 21 March to the Contador powerhouse in Ponta Figo (Neves Municipality) and a pre-proposal meeting will be held the same day at the address given below.

For further information, contact:

Alberto Fernandes Leal General Director, and/or Horácio Ramos Dias, Agência Fiduciária de Administração de Projectos (AFAP) Avenida Kwame N’krumah Prédio do Afriland First Bank
2º Andar, CP 1029, São Tomé
São Tomé e Príncipe.
Tel: +239 2225205;
Email: psrpafap@gmail.com;
Or horacio.dias@afap.st.