PEC is preparing to list 33 per cent of its shares on the Palestinian Securities Exchange. The remainder is owned by Arab Bank, Arab Palestinian Investment Company, Palestinian Development & Investment Company, Athens-based Consolidated Contractors International Company (CCC), CCC affiliates Morgantiand Al-Said, Palestine Investment Fundand UK-based Unipal. The company is considering expansion into the West Bank but no timeframe has been set.

At present the Gaza plant is running on a combination of natural gas and diesel, but PEC plans to convert it to a fully gas-fired facility with feedstock sourced from Egypt. The Palestine Electric Authority has signed a memorandum of understanding with Cairo to import 300 million cubic metres a year and a final agreement is expected to be signed imminently. Once signed, a pipeline will be constructed linking El-Arish with the Gaza plant at a cost of some $18 million.

The Gaza IPP has overcome considerable hurdles since it was launched in 1999, with the outbreak of the intifada in September 2000 causing construction delays and France's Alstom, the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contractor, declaring force majeure the same year. In 2001, the US' Enron, a 33 per cent shareholder in the project, declared bankruptcy. However, Alstom subsequently returned to work and Morganti took over Enron's shareholding (MEED 14:12:01).