Danish firm wins energy bid

Plan to set up 260MW generators
at both Jieh and Zouk plants

Danish engineering and contracting company BWSC (Burmeister & Wain Scandinavian Contractor) won a tender for the construction of new electric generators at the Jieh and Zouk power plants. The project involves building reciprocating engines to boost power output at the plants by some 260MW.

Raymond Ghajar, senior adviser at the Ministry of Energy and Water, said BWSC gave the best price. He said there are still many steps ahead and contract negotiations.

The project will cost around $350 million. It will be funded by the government.

Ghajar said that it will take at least four more months for the contract to be signed between the winning bidder and the government. Once work begins, the project should be completed within 12 to 18 months.

This project will run in parallel with a plan to rehabilitate both the Jieh and Zouk plants. Tenders for renovations of both power plants have already been conducted. The preliminary winner of the tender was a Chinese company, according to a source at the Council for Development and Reconstruction (CDR). The Cabinet has asked the CDR to proceed with the tender evaluation.

The two power plants, which combined currently provide around 600MW, will be closed once contracts for the rehabilitation of the power plants are finalized.

Renovation work on the power plants will take more than two years to complete. In the meantime, Turkish power-generating barges will be providing 270 MW to help cover the shortfall.

The rehabilitation of the power plants is funded through a $467 million loan from the Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development (AFESD).