More power to Orascom
01 February 2016
Egypt’s Orascom Construction says it has signed contracts worth $420 million to revamp two government-owned power stations.
Orascom was part of a consortium that completed the build of the Assiut and West Damietta plants in the third quarter of 2015. The power plants were completed in a record time in the third quarter of last year, the company says.
The plants, which are operational and have a combined capacity of 1,500 megawatts (MW), will now be converted to combined cycle from a simple cycle.
A combined cycle reuses waste products, increasing capacity by 50 per cent with no additional fuel intake.
Both power plants will be completed on an engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) and finance basis whereby Orascom Construction helps arrange a competitive financing package on behalf of the client.
“This project further solidifies Orascom Construction’s position as a leading power player in the region,” says a spokesman for the company. “The group is currently building in Egypt the two largest power plants in the world with a capacity of 4,800 MW each, and earlier this year connected 2,000 MW to Egypt’s national grid at Assiut, West Damietta and 6th of October.”
Osama Bishai, CEO of Orascom Construction, comments: “We are proud of our continued leadership in the development of Egypt’s power sector and are pleased to continue working on Assiut and West Damietta power plants following the milestones achieved at both sites. We look forward to further growth of our power business across our core markets as a contractor and a developer.”
Orascom Construction is a leading global engineering and construction contractor primarily focused on infrastructure, industrial and high-end commercial projects in the Middle East, North Africa, the US, and the Pacific Rim.
The group has consistently ranked among the world’s top contractors and was ranked number 40 on ENR’s 2015 Top 250 International Contractors list in 2015.
In addition, Orascom Construction develops and invests in infrastructure opportunities, owns 50 per cent of Besix Group, and holds a construction materials and property management portfolio.
