Contractors are still waiting for a commercial submission date to be set for the contract to build a 1,050MW integrated solar and combined-cycle (ISCC) power plant at the Waad al-Shamal industrial development in the north of Saudi Arabia.

Saudi Electricity Company (SEC) received technical bids in mid-October for the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract to build the ISCC plant at Saudi Arabian Mining Company’s (Maaden’s) $6bn Waad al-Shamal phosphate mining development.

According to sources close to the project, it may take some time before contractors submit the commercial components for the bids. It is thought that the client is waiting for the gas allocation to be confirmed before it invites commercial submissions.

MEED reported in August that the client had decided to integrate a 50MW solar component into the plans for the plant, which had previously just been planned as a 1,000MW combined-cycle generation facility. The plant will use concentrated solar power (CSP) technology, with the client allowing the bidder to select whether to utilise parabolic trough, power tower or linear fresnel technology.

The Waad al-Shamal plant is the second ISCC power scheme that SEC is planning to build in the kingdom. The utility is also planning to develop a 550MW ISCC plant at Duba. The Duba 1 ISCC is planned to have a capacity of 550MW and is scheduled for commissioning in 2017.

In December, SEC awarded the US’ GE the original equipment manufacturer (OEM) contract for the planned Duba 1 project.

The power projects are part of the kingdom’s efforts to boost generating capacity in the coming years to cope with the expected rise in demand. In its 2012 annual report, SEC forecast that peak demand will grow from the 51,900MW recorded in 2012 to 85,000MW in 2020 and 120,000MW by 2030.