Dubai, 20 February 2012 - IPR-GDF SUEZ Middle East, Turkey & Africa1, Gulf Investment Corporation, the Social Insurance Organisation, Capital Management House, Bahrain Islamic Bank, First Energy Bank and Bunyah, an Instrata Capital managed fund, today announced that the Al Dur Power and Water Company ('Al Dur') in Bahrain achieved full commercial operation earlier this month2. Al Dur is the largest independent power and water desalination plant in the Kingdom of Bahrain, producing 1,234 MW of power and 48 MIGD of water. The Bahraini Electricity and Water Authority ('EWA') is the sole off-taker of the plant output as stipulated in the 25-year Power and Water Purchase Agreement.
Al Dur was built by Hyundai Heavy Industries and uses General Electric turbines for the two power blocks. The plant utilizes Reverse Osmosis (RO) as its water desalination technology. Degrémont (GDF SUEZ group) has provided the RO technology, which is a highly flexible, efficient and environmentally friendly desalination technology. Al Dur will be the largest desalination plant with reverse osmosis technology in the Middle East.
Shankar Krishnamoorthy, President and CEO of IPR-GDF SUEZ META said: "We are pleased to announce the formal commencement of operations of the Al Dur power and water plant in Bahrain, which is an integral component of the power and water infrastructure of Bahrain. The successful launch of operations is due to the close alignment and cooperation of all our project partners and we want to thank them for that."
Hisham Al Razzuqi, CEO of Gulf Investment Corporation, added: "This is the second project that GIC and International Power-GDF SUEZ bring to successful completion in Bahrain, after Al Ezzel Power. With the completion of this award-winning project despite challenging financial market conditions, GIC is now the largest, single private foreign industrial investor in Bahrain. We and our partners continue to share the ambition of participating in vital infrastructure projects that the economies of the GCC require for their future growth."
Khalid Al Bassam, Chairman of Bahrain Islamic Bank, commented: "This is the first time that a power and water project in Bahrain has had such significant equity participation by Bahraini institutions. We are proud to say that this is the largest single private industrial project in Bahrain, and one which has now achieved commercial operation."
The Al Dur plant will be operated and maintained by Al Ezzel Operation & Maintenance Company ('AEOM'), a wholly owned subsidiary of International Power. AEOM also operates the 954 MW Al Ezzel power generation plant.
Notes
1 IPR-GDF SUEZ Middle East, Turkey & Africa (META) is one of the six regions of International Power plc, which is 70% owned by GDF SUEZ.
2 Ownership of the Al Dur Power and Water Company is: IPR-GDF SUEZ META (45%), Gulf Investment Corporation (25%) while the Bahraini partners together own 30% in aggregate.
-Ends-
In the Middle East, Turkey & Africa region (META), International Power (owned 70% by GDF SUEZ) has a direct equity interest in more than 26 GW power capacity and almost 4.7 million m³/day of desalination capacity in operation and under construction. In the GCC, it is the leading operating independent power and desalinated water producer, with over 15 years of experience. In Turkey, International Power has two plants in operation with a total capacity of 1.2 GW, and runs a natural gas distribution and retail company, IZGAZ, with over 200,000 subscribers east of Istanbul. In Africa, International Power is actively pursuing a number of projects, specifically in Morocco and South Africa.
www.iprplc-gdfsuez-meta.com
About Gulf Investment Corporation
Established in 1983, GIC is a financial institution wholly and equally owned by the six sovereign GCC member states. GIC supports the development of private enterprise and economic growth in the Gulf region. It is heavily involved in strategic projects across a range of sectors in the GCC, including power and water, steel, insurance and telecoms. GIC is the largest financial investor in power and water projects in the GCC with investments in five projects with a combined capacity of over 6,600 MW power and 1.4 million m³/day of desalinated water.
www.gic.com.kw
More information is available on:
- Social Insurance Organization: www.eng.sio.gov.bh
- Bahrain Islamic Bank: www.bisb.com
- Capital Management House: www.capitalmh.com
- Instrata Capital: www.instratacapital.com
- First Energy Bank: www.1stenergybank.com
For more information please contact:
IPR-GDF SUEZ Middle East, Turkey & Africa
Brigitte Dierckx
Strategy & Communications Manager
Tel : +971 4 45 70 721
Email: brigitte.dierckx@iprplc-gdfsuez-meta.com
Gulf Investment Company
Qais Al Shatti
Head of Communications
Tel: +965 22225430
Email: qalshatti@gic.com.kw
Bahrain Islamic Bank & Capital Management House
Khalid A. Al Bassam
Chairman
Email: Khalid@albassam.com.bh
© Press Release 2012
