Saudi Electricity Company (SEC) has awarded Australia’s WorleyParsons an estimated $125m engineering, procurement and construction management (EPCM) contract for two of its new power plants.

The Australian firm will provide integrated EPCM services for SEC’s combined-cycle gas turbine power plants, PP13 and PP14. Both facilities will have a total generating capacity of 1,650MW.

The scope of work will include conceptual engineering, detailed design, material procurement, project and construction management, and commissioning management.

The main engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contracts for the PP13 and PP14 projects are expected to be tendered in 2014.

In May 2012, SEC awarded an estimated SR4.7bn ($1.25bn) EPC contract to the local Arabian Bemco to build the PP12 (power plant 12) near Riyadh City, which will have a capacity of 2,175MW. Arabian Bemco will build the PP12 project at a site located 100 kilometres west of Riyadh city and adjacent to the PP11 combined-cycle power plant, which is now under construction and will include the construction of a 380kV substation. It is to be completed by 2015.

PP11 is under construction at a nearby site. Unlike PP12, PP11 is being built as an independent power project (IPP) by the UK/French GDF Suez Energy International with South Korea’s Hyundai Heavy Industries as EPC contractor. The facility will have a capacity of 1,729MW and is scheduled for completion in 2013.

The projects are part of the kingdom’s efforts to build new capacity to cope with the rapidly growing demand for power. In early 2012, the kingdom had a total power capacity of 57,440MW. With the Electricity Co-Generation Regulatory Authority (Ecra) predicting that peak demand will climb to 75,000MW in 2020, Riyadh is pushing ahead with a major power generation programme.