The selected developer will take a 40 per cent stake in a new company set up to implement the build-own-operate-transfer (BOOT) scheme; the remaining 60 per cent will be held by QP and QEWC. The project company will sign a gas fuel agreement with QP for the duration of the 25-year power purchase agreement (PPA).

Under the proposed schedule, the steering committee plans to issue the request for proposals (RFP) to shortlisted developers on 7 December. The plant's commercial operation has been set for April 2008; all its output will be supplied into the grid. The project's technical consultant is Germany's Fichtner(MEED 22:7:05).

Kahramaa had been looking at a 2,500-MW Mesaieed power plant to be implemented in two phases. Phase 1 was expected to be about 1,000 MW and serve the grid, with the second phase primarily meeting the power requirements of the planned Mesaieed aluminium smelter, being developed by QP and Norway's Hydro.

The Mesaieed facility B project will be the third private power project involving foreign participation.

The first, involving the US' AES Corporationand Gulf Investment Corporationin Ras Laffan Power Company, was inaugurated last year, while the second, known as Q-Power and having the participation of the UK's International Powerand Japan's Chubu Electric Power Company, is under construction.