Between $1.211 billion and $1.813 million is the range of proposals submitted by companies interested in designing and building the fourth bridge over the Panama Canal.
Of the four pre-qualified companies, Dragados Sucursal Panamá S.A., chose not to present their proposal at the event convened by the institution.
From a statement issued by the Ministry of Public Works:
A hospital in Nicaragua, a regional market in Costa Rica and a high rise residential complex in Panama are some of the projects planned for the coming months in the region.
The interactive system "Construction in Central America", compiled by the Business Intelligence Unit at CentralAmericaData, includes an up to date list of public and private construction projects that are planned in the region.
The consortium made up of the Italian company Astaldi and the Spanish company Edutrade is preparing to start construction and equipping of a new hospital in Chinandega, Nicaragua, in the next few days.
The estimated time for the construction of the new hospital is two and a half years.The hospital center will have 300 beds, operating rooms, clinics, intensive care area, cardiology, pediatrics and internal medicine, among other things.
The agreement with the Italian construction company over the liquidation of the contract for building the El Chaparral hydroelectric station means the country will avoid an international lawsuit.
The Executive Hydroelectric Commission of the Lempa River (CEL) confirmed it has paid Astaldi $108.5 million because its choice was to either go to international arbitration or negotiate an end to the turnkey contract.
The CEL and the construction company Astaldi have rescinded the contract for the dam construction by mutual agreement, with $108 million being paid to the Italian company.
The termination of the contract between Astaldi and Executive Hydroelectric Commission of the Lempa River (CEL) was endorsed by the Republic of El Salvador’s Accounts Court, which stated that "one of the effects of an annulment is that payment to the contractor is recognized on the basis of the work or services performed wholly or partly and goods delivered or received. "
The works being carried out by Astaldi, are virtually paralyzed because of a disagreement over the need to redesign the plans for the dam.
The work began in 2009, and should have been operational in 2013, which has become impossible given the current lack of progress.
In 2010 the storm Agatha caused landslides where the dam was being built, which according to Astaldi required, for safety reasons, a redesign of the plans.
The Italian construction company will manage the 1-B section of the ring road in the city of Tegucigalpa, at a cost of $20 million.
The National Congress has approved a contract with the company Astaldi, who was selected in a tender in which 24 companies participated, to complete the unfinished ring road in Tegucigalpa.
"It is estimated that construction of the 7.1 kilometers that make up section 1-B will take about 12 months, which means that the works should be completed in 2013. The cost of the project is 20 million dollars, resources that have been provided by a loan from the Central American Bank for Economic Integration", reported Laprensa.hn.
The decision of which entity will bear the costs of delays in construction of El Chaparral is being discussed between the parties.
The eight-month delay in the construction of the dam, built by the Italian company Astaldi, has generated additional costs that have not yet been estimated nor has it been determined which of the parties involved will pay them.
Due to project delays Salvadoran regulators are examining the possibility to extend the original deadline for the opening of the hydro power plant.
Hydroelectric Executive Commission of Río Lempa (CEL), the concessionaire of the project, said the dam would begin production January 2015 and not January 2014 as originally planned.
"The delay of a year is due to damages caused by Tropical Storm Agatha in May 2010 when the dam site was flooded", reported Laprensagrafica.com. According to Astaldi, contracted by CEL for the project, since that date, geological instability has been detected on the right side of the dam.
The problems detected could lead Cel and the Astaldi consortium, responsible for the project, to submit for international arbitration.
The faults which threaten the foundations of the dam were detected after Storm Agatha, halting all works at the site.
The Executive Committee of the Lempa River Hydroelectric Plant (Cel) and the Italian consortium Astaldi, before heading for arbitration, hired an international expert to determine who has the responsibility to cover the additional costs of a possible plant redesign.
Six companies have bid to construct Section 3B of the Salvadoran highway that traverses the north of the country.
The participating companies presented offers of between $20 and $31 million include Astaldi, FCC Cosntrucciones, Constructora Santa Fé and Equipos de Construcción.
"The project comprises the design and construction of the works required for the project to run efficiently and deliver a functioning highway that, 'improves the infrastructure network in the north of El Salvador between Guarjila and the "Nombre de Jesús" bridge'. It will be carried out in two stages: design and construction," reports Diariocolatino.com.
The project to build a 125 kilometer road from Acoyapa to San Carlos is expected to end on April 2011.
Transportation minister Pablo Martínez made the announcement after inspecting the project’s progress. He explained they are also working to improve rural roads in the area.
Laprensa.com.ni published further statements by the minister: “we confirmed that there is significant progress in the first 90 kilometers.
The Italian company will build two bridges over the Lempa River, with a total cost of $24.85 million.
These bridges are part of the CLN highway (“Carretera Lngitudinal del Norte”), and will be located in “Nuevo Edén de San Juan” and in “Nombre de Jesús”.
Works are scheduled to begin on the third week of March.
The bridge in “Nuevo Edén de San Juan” will be 330 meters long, and will be ready by March 2012.
Two companies, FCI Mexpresa and Astaldi Spa, submitted bids to build two bridges over the Lempa River.
FCI-Mexpresa submitted a $41.80 million bid to construct the bridges, while Astaldi proposed $24.85 million.
Both bridges will connect the Northern Longitudinal Highway (CLN). They are located in Nuevo Edén de San Juan and in Nombre de Jesús.
“José Ángel Quirós, executive director at Fomilenio, explained they will first review the lowest-priced bid. If this complies will all the requirements, they won’t analyze the highest-priced one”, reported Laprensagrafica.com.
The $350 million concession for the execution of the hydroelectric project is pending approval by the national assembly.
The consortium that will build the project that is expected to generate 180 megawatts is composed of the Brazilian group Queiroz Galvao, the Brazilian state-owned Petrobras Company, Nicaraguan businessmen linked to the Production and Finance Banks and the Italian Company Astaldi.
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