Deir Amar tender on hold

Abener-Butec called to lower price

A tender for building a gas-operated power generator in Deir Amar energy facility is being reconsidered due to insufficient funds. The bid was won by a partnership between Spanish firm Abener and local firm Butec. But the contract was not signed pending negotiations to lower the price, according to Minister of Energy and Water Gebran Bassil.

The budget allocated for the project is $502 million for a plant with an output of 450 MW. Abener-Butec had offered to build a 535 MW plant for $662 million.“There are two options; either to lower the size of the deal or to rerun the tender,” Bassil said.