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 coal-fired power independent power plant (IPP) by the end of March.

The client had been due to issue the tender documents in the fourth quarter of 2017, but, according to sources close to the project, the release of tender documents was deferred due to an ongoing study of upgrading the existing grid and building new network infrastructure to ensure the grid can handle the expected capacity additions.

According to sources close to the project, the client is also considering increasing the capacity of the proposed project from the originally planned 1.8GW.

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 2017 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. MEED reported in January that Dubai Electricity & Water Authority (Dewa) had invited consultancy firms to submit proposals for the next phase of the Hassyan coal IPP.

Following an extension to the bid deadline, consultancy firms now have until 26 February to submit proposals for the advisory contract. The project is expected to have a capacity of 1,200MW.