The developers of Saudi Arabia’s PP11 power project in Riyadh have selected the UK’s Mott MacDonald as owner’s engineer.

Mott MacDonald will carry out a review of the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contractor’s design.

This will then be followed by on site supervision of the construction, erection and commissioning of the power plant and the associated 380 kilovolt switchyard.

Located 125km from Riyadh City, the power plant is expected to produce around 1,700MW of electricity and will be one of Saudi Arabia’s largest combined cycle gas-fired power stations.

The $2.1bn project is owned by Saudi Electricity Company (50 per cent) along with Japan’s Sojitz Corporation (15 per cent), France’s GDF Suez (20 per cent) and the local Al-Jomaih Group (15 per cent).

Finance agreements for the facility were signed on 15 June and closed on 23 June. Construction is underway and is set to be completed in 2013.