Saudi Electricity Company (SEC) has extended the deadline for technical bids to build a 2,400MW power plant at Jeddah South. Contractors now have until 17 April to submit bids for the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract.

The bid deadline has been pushed back several times since the original deadline of 22 November 2011. Sources at SEC have revealed the steps were taken in response to requests for extensions from the bidders.

SEC adjusted the scope of the Jeddah South project in 2011. Under the current plan, the project will comprise four conventional thermal generating units, each with a minimum capacity of 600MW. The overall capacity will total a minimum of 2,400MW and bidders are allowed to submit proposals for projects up to 2,640MW (10 per cent upwards flexibility).

The contractor will also be responsible for constructing a 380kV substation to serve the project. Once technical bids are opened, an evaluation period will commence and will be followed by the opening of financial bids. The selected bidder will be required to complete construction of the project within 47 months of signing.

The Jeddah South project is part of an ambitious programme to add generating capacity to the grid to keep pace with rapidly rising demand for power in the kingdom. By 2021, peak demand is forecast to reach 87.76GW. SEC is planning to have 131.63GW of capacity commissioned by the same year.

SEC currently has 50.9GW of power generating capacity online. This includes 14GW of steam powered capacity, 6GW of combined cycle power, 21.8GW of simple-cycle power and 175MW of diesel-power. Non-SEC power generating capacity adds a further 8.9GW.