RIYADH: Ma’aden mining, Saline Water Conversion Corporation (SWCC) and Saudi Electricity Company (SEC) have signed an agreement to construct a joint power plant to generate 2,400 MW of electricity and 1.025 million cubic meters of desalinated water per day.
The new project replaces previous plans by Ma’aden and SWCC to establish two separate power and desalination plants to supply the planned aluminum complex at Ras Az-Zawr on the Kingdom’s east coast and will augment the national electricity network.
Abdallah Al-Dabbagh, president and CEO of Ma’aden, said that the replacement project was a great example of diversification and laid a strong foundation to generate new downstream industrial opportunities, creating jobs in the Ras Az-Zawr area. “Despite the global financial crisis Ma’aden remains fully committed to its integrated mine to metal aluminium project and reevaluated the project for a limited period to consider cost reductions. We accomplished that and improved the economics of the aluminum project in order to achieve better investment returns for our shareholders and numerous other benefits arising from the aluminum industry and its added value downstream opportunities including new employment opportunities for Saudis.”
The new agreement will increase capacity, reduce infrastructure cost and optimize energy efficiency. SWCC has scheduled the project for completion in the last quarter of 2013, thus commencing water supply and delivery of power to the grid six months earlier than the original schedule. “When the government committed itself to implementing the power plant project at Ras Az-Zawr, it emphasized its interest in and support for development projects,” said SWCC Gov. Faheed Fahed Al-Sharif.