China's Sinohydro to build Ivirizu hydroelectric dam in Bolivia

LA PAZ — Bolivian Energy Minister Rafael Alarcon said Friday that Chinese company Sinohydro has won a tender to build the Ivirizu hydroelectric dam.

Sinohydro won the second tender for the project, after the first was canceled on various technical grounds.

The Ivirizu project will be developed over four years, with an investment of over $550 million to bring 279.9 megawatts to the national grid once completed.

A total of five working groups will build the dam itself as well as tunnels, while installing hydromechanical equipment and setting up transmission lines, Alarcon said in the city of Cochabamba.

The construction has been given a budget of $190 million, he added.

The complex will have two hydroelectric power plants - Sehuencas, which will produce 188.62mW, and Pelton, which will generate 64mW.

The two structures will receive water from the Ivirizu river and transmit the energy through a high-tension voltage line to a sub-station in the municipality of Mizque.