Siepac development set to go ahead as companies come aboard
The $320 million turn-key project for the Central American power interconnection project (Siepac), has seen 12 companies pre-qualify for a role in the 230 kV, 1,830 km long project. The line will connect the transmission systems of Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Panama via 16 substations and will have a 300 MW capacity. Along with Abengoa-Inabensa, Cobra Instalaciones y Servicios, Elecnor and Isolux Watt and the Spanish-Brazilian consortium Consorcio Alhambra, come regional subsidiaries of ABB Power Technologies, Techint, Skanska, French-Venezuelan consortium Interconexiones, the Mexican-Colombian consortium Earth Tech-Eléctricas de Medellín and Brazil’s Asociación Alusa-Queiroz Galvao.
The consortium in charge of awarding the contract is made up of the respective state-owned power companies of the six countries involved, as well as Endesa Spain. The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) has already approved $40 million in financing for each of the six member countries while the European Investment Bank (EIB) has agreed to loan $40million, which will be guaranteed by Endesa, according to Siepac information.