Colombia to call $450 million power line tender

www.forbes.com Reuters, 03.12.03, 4:27 PM ET BOGOTA, Colombia, March 12 (Reuters) - Colombia said on Wednesday it would call a tender in 15 to 20 days to construct a $450 million electricity transmission line to boost energy links between the country's north and center, which are threatened by rebel bombings. "In a matter of 15 to 20 days the tender will be open, honest," the director of the government's Mining and Energy Planning Unit, Julian Villarroel, told Reuters. The project will seek to both cut transmission costs and reduce the risk of blackouts in the capital Bogota, which has been affected by rebel attacks on energy infrastructure. "The project will provide more protection to the transmission system," Villarroel said. The 500,000-volt line will be 600 miles (1,000 km) long. The government hopes work should start by the end of the year and it should begin to operate by 2006. While the risks of Colombia's four-decade-long guerrilla war might cause some investors to pause, the project offers good returns and the possibility of an energy link-up with Venezuela and Brazil, Villarroel said. Government officials have mentioned possible investors including Colombia's state-controlled ISA <ISA.CN>, Canada's Hydroquebec, Britain's National Grid <NGT.L> and Red Electrica <REE.MC> from Spain. Colombia currently has two major transmission lines linking the hydroelectric generators of the country's center with thermal plants on the Atlantic coast.