Wartsila has been awarded a contract to build a 38MW power plant in Saudi Arabia.

The Finnish energy company has been awarded the contract to provide four turbines and provide engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) services for the 38MW plant. The plant will run primarily on crude oil, with the capability to run on heavy and light fuel oils as back up.

After completing the project, Wartsila will have installed a total of 1,900MW of capacity in the kingdom.

An additional 13,105MW of capacity is due to come online in the kingdom in 2017 as it seeks to keep ahead of the rapid demand growth for electricity.

State utility Saudi Electricity Company (SEC) is planning to oversee the development of an additional 47,711MW of new generation capacity by 2024.