Northern Emirates utility Federal Electricity & Water Authority (Fewa) is preparing to invite expressions of interest for its planned 1.8GW coal-fired power plant before the end of September.

According to sources close to the project, the utility is planning to issue the expression of interest (EoI) documents in the week ending 28 September. The client has signed land agreements and has UAE government guarantees in place to ensure interest in the project from international developers.

MEED reported in August that progress was being made with the plans for the 1.8GW coal-fired power plant, with advisers submitting the draft plan to the client. The advisory team for the project is being led by the UK’s Deloitte (financial adviser), with the local office of Austria’s ILF Consulting Engineers as technical consultant and the UK’s Trowers & Hamlins as legal adviser.

MEED reported in May that Fewa had selected a site in Ras al-Khaimah for the facility, which will be developed using an independent power project (IPP) model. The site is reportedly located at the Ras al-Khaimah Maritime City.

The plant would be the second major coal-fired power plant in the UAE, with the GCC’s first coal power plant under execution in Dubai.

In November 2016, a consortium led by Saudi Arabia’s Acwa Power and China’s Harbin Electric started construction work on the 2,400MW Hassyan coal-fired power plant in Dubai.

The GCC’s first coal-fired power plant is being developed under the IPP model, with the developer consortium having signed a 25-year power purchase agreement (PPA) with Dubai Electricity & Water Authority (Dewa).

MEED reported in September 2016 that the project company had reached financial close for the $3.4bn scheme. The project will be funded by debt of $2.5bn and equity of $650m, according to sources close to the scheme.

The developer consortium signed the PPA in June 2016 for the facility, which will comprise four 600MW units.

Dewa had selected the team as preferred bidder for the originally tendered 1,200MW Hassyan coal IPP in October 2015 on a levelised cost of energy tariff (LCOE) of 4.501 cents a kilowatt hour (kWh). However, the developer reached an agreement with the Dubai utility to expand its remit and develop the first two phases of the Hassyan scheme, doubling the capacity to 2,400MW.