Power plant

An international Siemens-led consortium has been awarded a major contract to build a 1.8 billion Euro turnkey steam power plant with an associated desalination facility in the Gulf region.

The plant, to be constructed for the Riyadh-based Shuaibah Water and Electricity Company (SWEC) by a consortium headed by Siemens and Doosan Heavy Industries and Construction, will be located about 110 kilometres South of Jeddah.

For the plant, Siemens’ will supply three steam turbine-generator units each rated at 400MW, along with associated electrical and instrumentation and control systems. In addition, Shuaibah will be equipped with one of the most modern flue gas treatment systems in the world.

Once the three units are commissioned in late 2009, the plant will provide around 900 MW of power to the national grid. Additionally, the desalination plant supplied by Doosan will provide about 880,000 cubic meters of fresh water for the cities of Mecca, Jeddah, Taif and Al-Baha.