Four companies are in the running for the first phase of Dubai’s clean coal power project, with Saudi Arabia’s Acwa Power submitting the lowest bid.
Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (Dewa) announced the shortlist for the first phase of the Hassyan plant, which is expected to come online in 2020.
The project comprises three phases of 1,200 megawatts each, with the second unit expected to come online the following year.
However, there has been no announcement about the third phase.
The project, located in Saih Shuaib on the border between Dubai and Abu Dhabi, will fall under an independent power producer model.
Acwa, with its Chinese partner Harbin Electric Corporation, submitted the lowest bid at 5.177 US cents per kilowatt hour (kWh) for the 1,200MW first phase. The Saudi firm also submitted an alternative bid for 1,800MW at 4.9 cents similar to its proposal for the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum solar power park. Dewa originally only called for tenders for 100MW, but as Acwa offered further competitive rates, 200MW was actually awarded.
Acwa declined to comment further.
Other shortlisted contenders were all from Asia, with South Korea's Kepco, Tenaga Nasional of Malaysia and Japan's Marubeni. Dewa is evaluating the bids and the winner will be chosen based on "criteria developed by an advisory committee that oversees the project".
Dewa’s chief executive Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer said that the Hassyan project was part of Dubai’s initiative to diversify its energy mix.
Dewa did not say when the first phase project award would be announced, but said earlier that it planned to finance 80 per cent of the project under a special purpose vehicle.
lgraves@thenational.ae
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