Saleh Al-Awaji, chairman of the SEC's board of directors, on Tuesday signed a SR12.75 billion ($3.4 billion) contract with South Korea's Doosan Heavy Industries & Construction to implement the project, which will be completed within 51 months.

"The new plant (Rabigh-6) will have systems to get rid of nitrogen oxide, carbon gases and carbon ashes in order to protect the environment," the CEO said.

The Saudi firm said in a statement Tuesday the project would be financed through a SR15 billion loan the company was given by the government.

The plant is located on the Red Sea about 150 kilometers northwest of Jeddah. Saudi officials estimate that the Kingdom's electricity needs will grow by at least eight percent yearly - a level that requires tens of billions of riyals in investments for new projects.

The Rabigh-6 plant, using gas turbines, will be powered by natural gas and crude. It will have a capacity of 2,400 to 2,800 MW, around 12 to 14 percent of the 20,000 MW of power the SEC plans to add by 2018 at an estimated total cost of $80 billion. Plants in Rabigh generate 32 percent of electricity power produced in the Western region, Al-Barrak said.

SEC's board of directors recently approved a number of 380KV power transmission lines with a total length of 886 kilometers, as well as three 380KV transformer stations in Al-Jouf, Hail and the Eastern Province with a total capacity of 2,500 megawatts.

Al-Awaji said the company signed contracts worth SR26 billion this year. "Projects valued at more than SR12.8 billion are now under construction," he added.

He said a number of electricity projects would enter service this year, including the 10th power plant in Riyadh, which will have a capacity of 880 megawatts, and the newly expanded 110 megawatt Wadi Al-Dawasser plant.

According to a recent report issued by the SEC, the Kingdom's electricity generation capacity rose by 31.4 percent in 2009 compared to the previous year, bringing the country's total capacity to 44,485MW.

"The actual power generating capacity reached 38,680MW in 2009, registering an increase of 10.6 percent compared to the previous year," the report said. SEC sold 274,391 gigawatt/hour in 2009, an increase of 6.8 percent compared to 2008.