Riyadh awards $6bn deals to boost power generation

18 July 2008
Saudi Electricity Company (SEC) has awarded contracts totalling more than SR23bn ($6.1bn) as it seeks to raise its power generation capacity and strengthen its transmission and distribution networks in the kingdom.

There have been two major transmission and distribution contract awards. One, worth SR716m, has been awarded to Germany’s Siemens. The lump-sum, 24-month contract covers the construction of a 380-kV substation in Al-Qassim province.

Associated with that project, the local Gulf Consolidated Contractors has won an SR496m ($132m) contract to build a fuel-oil pipeline connecting the existing network with the existing Al-Qassim power plant.

The other 26-month substation deal involves the construction of five smaller substations close to Riyadh. The local Al-Osais Contracting Company will carry out the work, which is worth SR446m.

In addition, the local Al-Toukhi Contracting has won an SR614m contract to reinforce and upgrade the Wadi al-Dawasir power plant in the south of the Nejd region.

The awards come on top of two major contracts to expand generating capacity at the PP10 and Shuaibah power plants.

In late June, the local Arabian Bemco Contracting won the $3.1bn contract to build the PP10 plant in Riyadh (MEED.com 8:7:08).

A day earlier, France’s Alstom was awarded a $3bn contract to expand the Shuaibah plant by 1,200MW (MEED.com 7:7:08).

On 16 July, SEC said it had signed an SR6bn ($1.6bn) Murabaha Islamic financing facility with six local banks.

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