The Euro55M (US$78.3M) contract was awarded to the partners, working together as alstom Hydro Consortium Dagachhu, by Dagachhu Hydro Power Corp Ltd (DHPC).

Dagachhu will have an installed capacity of 124MW and is designed to generate 515GWh of electricity per year.

alstom-hydro Austria is to supply two 70MVA generators and also the electrical system, including automation and protection. Its share of the contract is valued at Euro30M (US$42.7M).

andritz Hydro is to supply two 6-nozzle Pelton turbines and all the hydraulic steelwork for a 45% share of the contract. The head at the plant, in the southwest of the country, in Dagana district, is 304m.

The plant is being developed for a budget of Euro151M (US$215M) and is due to be commissioned in 2012. Funding is coming from Bhutan, Austria and the Asian Development Bank (ADB).

Recently, Hindustan Construction Co (HCC) was awarded the Lot 1 contract on the project. The package includes construction of a diversion weir, intake, connection channel, desilter, flushing channel, headrace channel, headrace tunnels, surge shaft, pressure shaft, powerhouse and transformer caverns, control building and tailrace tunnel.

Bhutan and India are jointly developing 10 hydro projects with combined installed capacity of 11.5GW.