EXCLUSIVE: UAE utility prepares to tender coal power project

07 December 2017
Coal-fired plant could cost up to $3bn to develop

The Federal Electricity & Water Authority (Fewa), the utility provider for the UAE’s northern emirates, is preparing to issue the request for proposals (RFP) for its planned 1.8GW coal-fired power plant.

According to sources close to the project, Fewa has the RFP documents ready to issue to prequalified developers, and will issue them “imminently”.

The utility had been planning to issue the RFP by the end of October, but was delayed due to a number of factors. This included inviting additional developers, from the seven initially invited to express interest in the scheme, to participate in the prequalification process.

The advisory team for the project is 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 within Ras al-Khaimah Maritime City.

The IPP will 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.

 

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