RIYADH: A new 5,000 sq m power generation maintenance services workshop program will be launched at Rabigh, according to a senior official from international power giant Alstom. A 26,000 sq m tract of land has already been acquired to allow for future expansion.
"The Rabigh workshop will handle the reconditioning of gas turbine components as well as the inspection and repair of a wide range of other power plant equipment," Philippe Cochet, Alstom Thermal Power president, told Arab News during his brief visit to Saudi Arabia on Wednesday.
The new workshop project follows the doubling in capacity of Alstom's generator repair and rewind workshop at Jebel Ali in the United Arab Emirates, announced in February this year. " Both investments are part of Alstom's strategy to increase its local presence in the Middle East," Cochet said.
"The workshop will provide Saudi Electricity Company (SEC) customers as well customers from the region technical assistance for their respective plants," Cochet said, hoping that the facility would be fully operational by the end of this year.
During his one-day visit to the Saudi capital, Cochet and senior Alstom Power executives met top SEC officials, including Chairman Saleh Alawaji and President and CEO Ali Saleh Al-Barrak.
A memorandum of understanding was also signed between Alstom and SEC to establish a pilot expert development training program. The brainchild of SEC's leadership, this program will embed top SEC experts within Alstom businesses for on-the-job training placements, and further cement Alstom's commitment to developing local expertise. Alstom is among the first companies to support SEC in this venture and will increasingly take more candidates, following the successful completion of the pilot.
The training center will nurture the skills of a local Saudi work force in line with the very latest, world-class technical developments associated with Alstom to meet the challenges of high efficiency, environmentally sensitive turbine technology.
