Qatar power and water project awarded

A SUEZ Energy International / Mitsui consortium has been chosen to build the US$3.9 billion Ras Laffan C independent power and water project on Qatar's northeastern coast.

The two firms will each hold a 20% stake in the company that will be formed to run the project, with Qatar Electricity and Water Company owning a 45% shareholding and Qatar Petroleum taking the remainder.

The gas-fired combined-cycle power plant will have a capacity of 2,730 MW of power and the desalination facility will produce around 63 million gallons of fresh water per day. It will be the largest such facility in the country.

Output will be sold to Kahramaa, the Qatar General Electricity and Water Company responsible for transmission and distribution, under a 25-year power and water purchase agreement set to be finalised this month. Startup is scheduled for April 2011, with early power is pencilled in for May 2010.

The project is expected to be financed by syndicated banks on a limited recourse loan basis. The project company's revenues over 27 years are estimated at US $ 22.7 billion.

SUEZ Energy International CEO Dirk Beeuwsaert said the plant would be instrumental in meeting Qatar's energy and water needs, which are being driven higher by a rapid increase in population and the vast number of new industrial projects coming on stream in the next few years.

Last year, water consumption in Qatar grew by 16%, while power demand rose by 17%.

The country is aiming to triple its electricity output to reach 10,000 MW by 2015.

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