Interconexion Electrica ISA Bolivia SA

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In 2003, Bolivian Energy Superintendency granted a 30-year contract to build and operate three electrical power lines and five substations in Bolivia to Colombia's Interconexion Electrica SA (ISA). The three transmission lines - Santivanez-Sucre, Sucre-Punutuma, and Carrasco-Urubo - comprised 604 kilometers of power lines. The Santivanez (Cochabamba) to Sucre (Chuquisaca) line was to hold 220 million volts and was to be 248 km. It included the construction of two substations. The line between Sucre (Chuquisaca) and Punutuma (Potosi) was to hold 220 million volts and was to be 188 km. It included the construction of one substation in Punutuma. The Carrasco (Cochabamba) to Urubo (Santa Cruz) line was to hold 220 million volts and was to be 168 km. It included the construction of one substation in Urubo. The project, completed in November 2005, double Bolivia’s current capacity for high voltage transport. ISA's extension in Bolivia was an effort to connect the electricity network of the Andean region by 2006. The project company, Interconexion Electrica ISA Bolivia S.A., was comprised of three ISA subsidiaries: ISA (51%), Transelca (part of ISA's energy group - 48.9%) and Internexa (part of ISA's telecom group - 0.1%). ISA's bid of US$87.3 million was selected over those of five other bidders. Financial closure was acheived in September of 2005 with a US$31 million A loan from the InterAmerican Development Bank (IADB) and a a US$23 million loan provided by the Corporacion Andina de Fomento (CAF). The project was the result of a tender held by Bolivia's power regulator in June 2003. ISA was awarded a 30-year concession contract to build and operate the lines after it bid US$87.3mn, beating out the only other bidder, Spain's Abengoa, which bid US$97.5mn. Financial closure on 09/2005, but the facilities started to operate in Nov 2005? "The project cost was estimated at US$77.5 million. The project reached financial closure in September 2005, with 15-year A-loans from the Inter-American Development Bank (IADB - US$31 million) and the Corporacion Andina de Fomento (CAF – US$23 million). The project’s shareholders provided the remaining of the funding."