BURAIDAH: Power shortages in parts of Saudi Arabia will become a thing of the past if the ongoing plan of Saudi Electricity Company (SEC) is any indication.
“We plan to invest $10 billion in the next 10 years, which will take care of power needs in all parts of the Kingdom,” SEC President and CEO Ali Saleh Al-Barrak told Arab News on the sidelines of a signing ceremony to award SR1.08 billion contract to Arabian Bemco Contracting Co. to expand the Qassim Power Plant. The 10-year-plan will add 25,000 MW to the Kingdom’s generation capacity. 40,000 MW power is currently being produced in different parts of the Kingdom.
Demand for power is growing in the Qassim region, which experienced disruptions, according to some residents. It is predominantly an agricultural region with its fertile soil and plentiful water in the central part of the Kingdom, about 300 km north of Riyadh.
SEC has authorized this year projects worth SR2.2 billion in Qassim. The contract for expanding the existing plant is one such project, Al-Barrak said. “This (expansion) is a super rush project, which will be completed within seven months as against two years it would normally have taken,” he said, adding that 75 percent of the infrastructure work for the plant’s expansion has been completed. “With the additional production, we hope the demand during the coming summer will be met. Tenders for four other plants in various other areas are also under way,” he added.
Saudi Arabia’s power demand is projected to rise by more than 250 percent by 2032. The Kingdom’s electricity consumption could rise to the equivalent of 140,000 MW over the next two decades, according to the Ministry of Water & Electricity.
“The SR 1,084,084,342 extension project of the existing Qassim Power Plant power will increase the plant capacity by 224 MW by adding four Gas Turbines on a super rush basis,” a plant executive said in his presentation.
“It will be completed by August 2010, Henry M. Sarkissian, CEO of Arabian Bemco Contracting Co. Ltd., said, adding that Arabian Bemco has long experience in fast track projects including those in the Kingdom. Both Al-Barrak and Sarkissian signed the contract on behalf of their companies.
The Kingdom’s plan to meet growing demand for power includes 10 top projects. They include Yanbu IWPP, Jubail IWPP, 1,200 MW plant next to Shuaiba Power Plant, Jazan Economic City Power Plant, Jeddah Desalination Plant-Phase 3, 380kV Substation in Qassim, Tabuk Power Plant Extension-Phase 6, 380kV Madinah East Substation, Upgrade of Wadi Al-Dawasir Power Plant in Riyadh and Qassim Fuel-Oil Pipeline, which will connect Qassim Power Plant with the existing national grid.
