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Morocco’s National Office of Electricity & Drinking Water (Onee) is evaluating the proposals it has received for a contract to build and operate an open-cycle 900MW thermal power plant in the country for five years.

MEED understands two teams submitted proposals to build the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) project.

"The technical bids are under evaluation. This will be followed by the opening of the commercial bids shortly," says a source close to the project.

The proposed power generation plant will utilise dual-fuel gas turbines, with diesel fuel as a backup.

MEED previously reported that the following companies have been qualified to bid for the contract:

• Abengoa (Spain)
• Ansaldo (Italy)
• Arab Contractors (Egypt)
• Bharat Heavy Electricals (Bhel, India)
• China Energy Engineering Group (CEEC)
• China National Electric Engineering (CNEEC)
• China Overseas Engineering Group  (Covec, China)
• Consolidated Contractors Company (Lebanon)
• Dongfang Electric (China)
• Duro Felguera (Spain)
• GE (US)
• Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (Japan)
• Sepco 3 (China)
• Siemens Energy (Germany)
• TSK (Spain)

Work includes a 400-kilovolt (kV) substation. The power plant is located along the M18 station point of the Maghreb-to-Europe gas pipeline (MGE).

Morocco awarded six contracts comprising the first phase of its Noor 2 solar photovoltaic (PV) power project in April 2022.

It is the first set of renewable energy contracts that the Moroccan Agency for Sustainable Energy (Masen) and Morocco’s Energy Transition & Sustainable Development Ministry have awarded since 2020, when the Covid-19 pandemic hit.

Three companies won the contracts to develop the six solar PV schemes, with capacities between 36MW and 69MW.

Morocco aims to source up to 52% of its energy from renewable sources and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 45.5% by 2030.