-- Min.

KUWAIT, July 25 (KUNA) -- Minister of Electricity and Water, and acting Minister of Information Salem Al-Uthayna asserted Monday that power factor improvement is a modern project that keeps up with sophisticated techniques in the domain of conserving electric power.

Al-Uthayna added that the system saves the electric power, and works toward providing them to secondary power plants.

Al-Othaina said, in a statement made today following the inauguration of Salwa secondary power plant which is operated according to the above-mentioned system, that, "the new system contributes to reducing consumption from 15 to 20 percent through conserving the wasted power." He added that Kuwait took the lead when it applied the project which primarily sprouted as a notion by the rationing committee in 2008, hailing the efforts made by five Kuwaiti female engineers who initiated the project, then they increased to thirteen engineers who worked toward carrying out the project till its operation.

The total cost of the project amounted to KD 3.600 million over five years including maintenance works, making clear that the project's contract was signed in 2009, and it covered the installation, operation, and maintenance of 50 power plants in accordance with the above-mentioned system which will be applied later on to all secondary power plants in the country.

Meanwhile, Assistant Undersecretary of Transportation Networks Saleh Al-Musallem said that the project enjoys a special importance, and will provide 1,000 megawatts in case it is applied to all secondary power plants.

Further, Al-Musallem added that the project started as a Kuwaiti notion in 2008, then it was carried out by Kuwait as well, noting that it is the first of its kind in the Arab Gulf region.

He added that the project is also a distinctive one as it will enable the ministry to meet the consumers' demands, increase the capacity of the secondary transformation power plants in what helps the mininstry honor its current commitments on power generation without constructing new transformation plants, particularly in the areas where there are no lands or infrastructure.

Meanwhile, Chief of the Kuwaiti female engineers supervising the project Afnan Al-Khalifi said that the project is a purely Kuwaiti, adding that it started through the efforts of Kuwaiti female engineers in 2008 as a mere dream, then it came into being in 2011.

Finally, she said that the project is a small one in terms of its material value, but it is a big one in its ability to reduce the electricity consumption, expressing her thanks for the support lent to the team's members in order to implement such vital enterprise.