ESBI has emerged as the only company to submit a proposal for consultancy work associated with the development of a 400-kV transmission network.

In late September the company submitted a price of BD3.3m ($8.8m) for the project (MEED 29:9:08).

With no other bidders, the Irish firm is expected to secure the contract in the near future, according to an industry source.

The consultancy contract is an extension of an existing project to upgrade the country’s 220-kV and 66-kV transmission network.

ESBI won the engineering consultancy contract for that scheme in March.

The project, which is due to be completed by 2011, covers the construction of 39 substations across the country. Of these, 10 will have a capacity of 220 kV.

The remaining 29 will have a capacity of 66 kV. ESBI and EWA are currently assessing bids for the various packages included in the project.

If it wins the latest deal, it will mark a third success for ESBI in Bahrain this year.

In late July, the company was awarded a contract covering the development of the country’s distribution system.

It will prepare a masterplan for the expansion of the distribution network at and below the 11-kV level up to 2017.

Bahrain’s transmission network is growing at a rate of 10-12 per cent a year.