The estimated $180 million contract will cover the supply of three to four open-cycle gas turbines with a total capacity of 400 MW. The contract will also include related civil works. The new facilities will be commissioned in the summer of 2003.

'The client is keen on commissioning the facilities on a fast-track basis, due to an anticipated shortage in the supply of power by 2003,' says a project source.

The prospective bidders are Alstom of France, Siemens of Germany, GE Power Systemsof the US, Ansaldo Energiaof Italy and Japan's Mitsubishi Heavy Industries.

Under the second phase of the project, MEW plans to install an additional 200 MW of capacity at Shuaiba.

The new capacity is to be built on the site of the former Shuaiba North power station, which had capacity of 400 MW. Shuaiba North was badly damaged during Iraq's invasion of Kuwait in 1990 and, as a result, has been decommissioned.

The US' Parsons Brinckerhoff International is consultant for Shuaiba and two other power projects to be built at an estimated cost of $2,000 million (MEED 16:2:01).

The largest of the two is the KD 533 million ($1,800 million) Al-Zour North project. The proposed steam turbine plant will have an installed capacity of 2,500 MW and is scheduled to begin operation in the second half of 2006.

The other project calls for a 400-MW gas-fired plant at Subiya.