The UAE’s Utico has awarded a contract to Finland’s Wartsila to build a small-scale power generation unit in the emirate of Ras al-Khaimah.

Wartsila will supply equipment for and install a 39MW gas-fired unit for the UAE-based independently held private utility. The contract represents Wartsila’s first gas-fired power plant win in the UAE.

The facility will comprise four 20-cylinder Wartsila 34SG generating sets. The power plant is expected to be operational in the spring 2012, and will be used to supply electricity to industries in the surrounding area.

Utico plans to expand the power project at a later date. The second phase will double the capacity of the project, while the final phase will take the overall capacity of the project to 100MW.