Monday, Oct 17, 2011
(This item was originally published on Sunday.)
RIYADH (Zawya Dow Jones)--Saudi Electricity Co. (5110.SA), or SEC, the largest listed utility in the Gulf region, said Sunday it signed a 5.4 billion Saudi riyal ($1.4 billion) contract with an unnamed local firm to boost power generation at its tenth station in the capital Riyadh.
The deal will boost the station's power generation by 1200 megawatts, SEC, whose major shareholder is the Saudi government, said in a statement posted on the Saudi bourse website. The new units will be operational within 46 months.
Saudi Arabia, which is struggling to supply uninterrupted electricity during a population boom and industrial expansion, expects SEC to invest $80 billion over the next 10 years to add 20,000 megawatts of power generation capacity.
Earlier this month, the firm said it launched the kingdom's first power station using solar energy at the southern Red Sea coast. The construction of the power plant located at the Farasan Island in the Jizan province was funded by the Japanese firm Showa Shell, which has carried out the installation of all the fixtures, equipment and photovoltaic panels.
SEC shares closed flat at SAR13.7 Sunday.
-By Summer Said, Dow Jones Newswires; +966-546-842373; summer.said@dowjones.com
Copyright (c) 2011 Dow Jones & Co.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
17-10-11 0351GMT
