JEDDAH: Saudi Electricity Co. (SEC) has signed a SR5.4 billion ($1.44 billion) contract with a national company to build 1,200 megawatts of power generation capacity at an electricity plant in Riyadh.
The PP10 combined cycle plant power plant in Riyadh currently has a generation capacity of 2,240 MW. The contractor will add 10 steam turbines, which should be in operation in 46 months, SEC said in a statement.
"The project aims at strengthening SEC's power generation capacity to meet the growing demand," said Saleh Al-Awaji, deputy minister of water and electricity and chairman of SEC's board of directors.
The new project would ensure uninterrupted supply of electricity in the capital, he added.
Saudi Electricity has an $80-billion investment plan to increase its power generation capacity by 30,000 MW by 2018 to meet power demand, which is growing at around 8 percent each year.
Ali Al-Barrak, CEO of SEC, said each turbine of the new plant would have a capacity to produce 110 to 130MW, adding that the project included linking the plant with transformer stations.
"The 10 new turbines will not consume any additional fuel as they will operate by steam produced from the heat of existing turbines, thus enhancing the plant's fuel efficiency by 50 percent," Al-Barrak said.
© Arab News 2011
