The Saudi Electricity Company (SEC) has extended the bid deadline for commercial proposals to build the 1,050MW integrated solar and combined-cycle (ISCC) power plant at the Waad al-Shamal industrial development in the north of Saudi Arabia.

Contractors now have until 30 June to submit commercial bids for the ISCC plant. The deadline for commercial proposals has now been extended a number of times, with the original date having been set for 5 April. The deadline has been extended to allow contractors more time to work on bids due to the technical complexity of the project, according to sources in the kingdom’s power sector.

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.

The delay in setting a commercial bid deadline was reportedly due to the client waiting for gas allocations to be confirmed for providing feedstock for the plant.

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 ISCC plant will supply power to the industrial development, which has an estimated total value of $7bn. SEC is one of several major companies planning to provide infrastructure to support the Waad al-Shamal development.