Amman has selected a site at Zarqa located northeast from the capital for its third independent power plant (IPP).

National Electric Power Company (Nepco) has also put together a proposed timetable to tender the project. It will issue a request for qualification (RFQ) in May or June this year followed by a request for proposals (RFP) in August.

The generating capacity of the project is yet to be decided upon but early indications suggest that a 400-500MW plant would be viable.

Jordan’s Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Khaled al-Irani has said that the project may be executed in two phases. The first phase would reach completion in 2013 and the second would be finished in 2014.

The US’ K&M Engineering & Consulting recently won the consultancy contract for the project. A preliminary report on the project is expected from K&M by early April (MEED 11:1:10).

The plant, which will use either steam turbines or diesel engines, will initially be oil-fired. However, depending on the availability of alternative feedstock, it could be converted to run on natural gas in the future.

Nepco, which operates most of Jordan’s power network, will buy the output of the plant.

The project is Jordan’s third IPP. The previous two private power schemes were implemented under the Energy & Mineral Resources Ministry.

The Almanakher IPP, which began operating in August 2009, was developed by a team of Dubai-based AES Oasis and Japan’s Mitsui & Company. The ministry awarded the second IPP, at Al-Qatrana, to a team of Korea Electric Power Corporation and Saudi Arabia’s Xenel Industries in mid-2008.