Nine companies have prequalified for the contract. They are: AES Internationaland CMS International, both of the US, Ireland's ESB International, Germany's Babcock Borsig Power, Japan's Electric Power Development Company, Enel Produzioneof Italy, Sogex Oman, the UK's Thames Water, part of Germany's RWE, and Belgium's Tractebel.

The 656-MW, 100 million-gallon-a-day co-generation plant at Qidfa is under construction by South Korea's Doosan Heavy Industries & Construction Companyunder an $802 million engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract awarded in mid 2001. The plant is due to be commissioned in the third quarter of 2003. The consultant is Germany's Fichtner.