Saudi Arabia has awarded a $2.6-billion contract to a Spanish-Egyptian joint venture to build a large-scale 3 gigawatts (GW) combined cycle gas-fired power plant in the Eastern Province of the Kingdom, the Egyptian contractor said on Monday.

Egypt-based and NASDAQ-listed Orascom Construction announced that its 50-50 joint venture with Spanish energy infrastructure firm Técnicas Reunidas signed an Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) contract to build the Qurayyah IPP Expansion Project.

Orascom Construction and Técnicas Reunidas signed the EPC contract with Hajr Two Electricity Company, a consortium comprised of ACWA Power, Saudi Electricity Company, and Haji Abdullah Alireza & Co. Ltd. Orascom Construction and Técnicas Reunidas already received the Limited Notice to Proceed with the project.

The power plant will also be equipped with readiness for carbon capture and include a 380 kV electrical substation.

The contract “builds on our success in the power sector most recently in Egypt, and we look forward to making a similar significant impact in Saudi Arabia,” Orascom Construction’s chief executive officer Osama Bishai said in a statement.

Saudi Arabia, for its part, aims to boost electricity generation from natural gas, whose production is being increased by the state oil giant Aramco.

Source: Oilprice