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GDF Suez Wins Contract for Shuweihat-2 Power Generation and Desalination Plant

Posted on: Saturday, 2 August 2008, 06:00 CDT

GDF Suez has won the contract for the construction and operation of the Shuweihat-2 power generation and seawater desalination plant in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. The French energy major has signed a 20-year power and water purchase agreement for the facility.

The Shuweihat-2 facility is a greenfield, natural gas-fired installation that will deliver 1,500MW of electricity and 454,610 cubic meters of water per day.

The plant will be located in western Abu Dhabi, approximately 280km from Al Taweelah, another power generation and desalination plant in which GDF Suez has a 20% stake. Completion and start-up of the Shuweihat-2 plant is scheduled for 2011.

GDF Suez owns 40% of the facility, with the remaining 60% being owned by the Abu Dhabi Water and Electricity Authority (Adwea), which issued the tender. An affiliate of Adwea, the Abu Dhabi Water and Electricity Company (Adwec) is the sole off-taker of the plant's output, as stipulated in the 20-year power and water purchase agreement.

Adwea is planning to launch a similar project, the Shuweihat-3, to cope with the emirate's energy and water needs. Abu Dhabi is aiming to raise power generation capacity by 35% over the next five years, with demand for power expected to rise by almost 80% by 2012. Water demand is estimated to grow at 5% per year.

Dirk Beeuwsaert, CEO of GDF Suez Energy International, said: "With Shuweihat-2, we now have 10 plants in our Middle East portfolio, the majority combining power and desalination. They represent over 12,000MW of electricity and two million cubic meters of water per day, an increasingly significant part of GDF Suez's overall energy assets."

Source: Datamonitor

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