Sweden-based NCC Civil Engineering has won contracts for two hydro power plants
in Costa Rica, as well as a
hydro dam facility and water supply project in the Dominican Republic.
One of the hydro power plants in Costa Rica, Brasil II, is located on the Rio Virilla river, just outside the capital city San Jose. The power plant will be located about 2km downstream of the Brasil I plant which was constructed by NCC and
completed in 1998. The project
consists of a concrete dam, a transmission tunnel, concrete conduit, a pressure pipe line and a surface power plant. The plant will generate 31MW.
The second power plant,
El Encanto, is located about 100km northwest of San Jose on the Aranjuez river. El Encanto comprises a concrete dam, a long transmission tunnel lined with concrete, penstocks and a surface power plant. The project generates 9MW.
Both hydro power plants will be constructed by a consortium, Consortio Noruego, which
in addition to NCC includes General Electric Energy Norway and alstom Norway. Statkraft Grxner is the designer. NCC’s share of the order amount is about US$50M.
In the Dominican Republic, the contract involves the construction of a dam on the Camu river in La Vega province in
the centre of the western part of the country. The main function of the dam is to provide flood control but it will also provide secure water supplies to the area, for drinking water and farm irrigation. The project involves a 70m high ballast-filled dam with an asphalt core and a 3-4MW surface power plant. NCC’s share of the project will amount to approximately US$35M.