India’s Larsen & Toubro (L&T) has been awarded an estimated $473m contact to implement the first stage of the Qatar General Electricity & Water Corporation’s (Kahramaa’s) phase 11 transmission and distribution (T&D) programme.

L&T will build and install 18 extra high voltage (EHV) substations and 151 kilometres of EHV cabling. The work will involve the supply, erection, testing and commissioning of gas insulated switchgear, power transformers, 220kV EHV cables, 11kV air insulated switchgear, substation systems and a direct current (DC) system.

The project is scheduled to take 22 months to complete.

Kahramaa is planning to invest $10bn on new T&D projects by 2018 as it seeks to expand and improve the country’s electricity infrastructure. The investment in the T&D sector is vital as the country continues to experience an annual growth in electricity demand of 10-12 per cent, which is expected to continue to 2018. During this time Kahramaa is planning to increase the country’s generation capacity by more than 2,000MW. The extra capacity will be provided by the planned Facility D independent water and power project IWPP, which is currently out for tender.