Bidders get more time for 3,780MW Saudi power plant

13 November 2016

Integrated plant will run on gas and solar energy

Bidders have been given more time to work on proposals for the 3,780MW Taiba integrated solar combined-cycle (ISCC) power plant in Saudi Arabia.

The client, Saudi Electricity Company (SEC), has extended the bid submission date for the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract for the plant to 23 November. The project is now almost a year behind schedule, with the initial deadline for technical bids having been set for 30 December 2015.

There has been speculation in the market that the procurement model for the Taiba project may be switched to an EPC-plus finance or even independent power project (IPP) model as a result of Riyadh cutting capital expenditure programmes as a result of the fall in oil revenues. However, according to sources close to the scheme, no decision to switch the model has been made yet, with bidders still working on proposals.

“The client has received bids for the gas turbines component,” says a source close to the scheme.

The project is part of the kingdom’s programme to boost capacity to meet the rapidly rising demand for power, which is expected to increase from the current 62GW to 120GW by 2030.

On 10 November, SEC invited developers to submit expressions of interest (EoIs) for the planned 5,400MW PP15 project, which will be developed under the IPP model.

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