The Cabinet has awarded the contract for electricity transmission infrastructure between Sampur and Kappalthurai in the Eastern Province to a joint venture of Ceylex Engineering (Pvt) Ltd and China’s Xingneng Electric Power Construction Co. Ltd.
The contract value is USD 4.15 million, EUR 780,000 and Rs 1,096.08 million, excluding taxes, the Daily Mirror reported. EconomyNext gives the identical three-currency breakdown.
The rupee figure is the smaller part of the contract
The Daily Mirror headlines the award as a “Rs 1.09 billion contract”. That is the rupee tranche alone.
At prevailing rates the USD 4.15 million component alone exceeds the rupee component, and the euro tranche adds further. Reporting the award by its rupee line understates it by more than half. Both filings give the full three-currency figure in their text; only the headline reduces it.
What is being built
The project covers construction of a 220(132)/33 kV grid substation at Sampur and expansion of the existing 220(132)/33 kV grid substation at Kappalthurai, the Daily Mirror reports. The stated aim is to strengthen the national transmission system and improve the efficiency of the power network.
It is financed with assistance from the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank. EconomyNext describes it as covering key grid developments in the eastern region under the AIIB-funded programme.
Six bids were received under the International Competitive Procurement Procedure. Following evaluation and a recommendation from the High Level Procurement Committee, the Cabinet approved the Energy Minister’s proposal to award the contract to the joint venture as the lowest responsive bidder.
Cabinet Spokesman Nalinda Jayatissa described the initiative as part of broader grid improvement plans, according to EconomyNext.
Not reported
Neither filing gives a construction timetable or completion date, the transmission capacity the new substation will add, or the number of bids disqualified at evaluation.
Neither states the terms of the AIIB financing — whether loan or grant, and on what conditions — or what share of the cost it covers. Neither identifies the five unsuccessful bidders or gives the margin by which the winning bid was lowest.
Neither filing connects the project to the long-stalled Sampur power generation proposals, and this desk does not assume a connection.
Corroborated. Both verified newsrooms filed on Tuesday afternoon and agree on the contractor, the financier, the procurement route and all three currency components of the price.
