General Electricity Company of Libya (Gecol) has invited South Korea’s Hyundai Engineering & Construction to build its planned Tripoli West power plant in its entirety, according to sources close to the project.

Gecol originally awarded the 1,400MW project as five separate contracts in late 2007, but has struggled to secure funding.

Hyundai Engineering & Construction won two of the five contracts: one for the supply of steam turbines and another covering electromechanical work.

South Korea’s Daewoo Engineering & Construction secured a civil works package. Doosan Heavy Engineering & Construction, also South Korean, won a contract to supply a boiler.

Gecol awarded the marine works contract to Geneva-based Archirodon Construction Overseas.

Hyundai has agreed to build the plant if Gecol increases the overall amount it will pay for the plant.

However, Gecol has rejected attempts by the original contractors to renegotiate prices. In August, MEED reported that Gecol had asked the original contractors to reduce their prices.

Considering the government failed to allocate any funds to the project yet, this is unlikely to happen. Gecol has not informed the original contractors that it plans to award all five contracts to Hyundai.

Gecol had sought to secure financing for the scheme by bringing in a private investor to buy the plant, once construction is completed.

Sources close to the project say that Gecol’s discussions with UAE-based developer Oasis IP have broken down.