The contract is worth about US$490m, making it one of the biggest private construction contracts in South America.
The client is Alto Maipo, which is a subsidary of Chilean-based AES Gener and US-based AES Corporation. The project scope includes detail design engineering and construction of underground and civil works of the two hydroelectric plants Alfalfal II and Las Lajas. The complete contract consists of tunnels and shafts with a total length of 46.5km excavated by drill and blast as well as by tunnel boring machines.
The design and construction period starts this month and will last for about four and a half years. The hydroelectric complex will have a total capacity of approximately 531MW.
The location of the Alto Maipo Hydropower Plant is located 50km southeast of the city of Santiago, in the high Maipo River basin of the municipal district of San José de Maipo.This area is situated in the Andes close to the Argentinean border with peaks up to 6,500m.
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