State-owned Public Electricity Corporation (PEC) in mid-July received final clarifications from four shortlisted groups bidding for the contract to build the estimated $230 million Marib power station (MEED 9:7:04).

The final four candidates for the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract were approved and shortlisted in early July by the funding agencies, the Saudi Fund for Development (SFD) and the Kuwait-based Arab Fund for Economic & Social Development (AFESD), following the review of a total of seven offers. Industry sources say the opening of commercial proposals on the project is now expected to take place in late July or early August.

The four groups in the race for the 300-MW single cycle plant contract are: China's Dongfang Electric Corporation; Harbin Power Engineering Company, also of China; Dubai-based Mapna International, a subsidiary of state-owned Iran Power Plant Projects Management Company (Mapna), with Nasir Bonyad Industrial & Construction Company, also of Iran; and Germany's Siemens, with Saudi Arabia's Arabian Bemco Contracting.

Germany's Lahmeyer International has the contract to supervise the construction of the power plant. A contract award is imminent on the package to supervise construction of the project's 400-kV and 132-kV gas-insulated switchgear (GIS) substations and the 200-kilometre, 400-kV transmission line. Germany's Fichtner, Jordan's National Electric Power Company (Nepco)and Saudi Consulting Services (SaudConsult)have been shortlisted for the contract.

The opening of commercial offers for the EPC contracts to build the substation and the transmission line, which was initially scheduled for 30 June, is now planned for the first week of August, PEC says. Both the SFD and AFESD in late June approved funding and shortlisted six companies for the substation and transmission line packages.

It is understood that Lahmeyer has also been awarded a contract by PEC to draw up tender documents for a planned second-phase development at Marib, to be carried out as an independent power project (IPP).

Marib phase 2 calls for a 400-MW power unit. It is expected to go for tender in late 2004 or the first quarter of 2005 (MEED 7:6:02).