GE and Saudi Arabia Sign a $700 Million Power Plant Deal

Diversified conglomerate General Electric (GE) said Monday it signed agreements worth about $700 million to supply Saudi Arabia with equipment related to the construction of a gas-fired power plant. The new power plant, Riyadh PP11, will provide 15% of the power generation capacity in Saudi Arabia's central region.

Located at Dhuruma, about 80 kilometers west of the Saudi capital Riyadh, the new facility will add nearly 1,730 megawatts of power to Saudi Electricity Co.'s (SEC) grid by mid-2013.

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It will be owned and operated by Dhurumna Electricity, formed by SEC and a consortium consisting of GDF Suez (GDFZY) of France, Aljomaih Group of Saudi Arabia and Sojitz of Japan. Hyundai Heavy Industries of South Korea is in charge of the plant's design and construction.

Using natural gas as its primary fuel, the new plant will feature GE's high-efficiency technology, gas turbines and advanced emissions controls.

GE says it so far has more than 400 installations at SEC sites throughout Saudi Arabia, providing the kingdom with over 20,000 megawatts of power. Saudi Arabia is expected to need about 70,000 megawatts by 2020, according to GE. The country currently has an installed capacity of 44,000 megawatts.