Under a $420m contract, Orascom Construction has agreed to convert the existing simple power plants in Egypt to combined cycle plants. The recently-completed 1,000MW Assiut and 500MW West Damietta power plants will be converted into combined cycle plants, which will boost capacity by 50% without any extra fuel intake.
Orascom Construction will carry out the engineering, procurement and construction of the combined cycle plants, and also arrange finances for the deal.
Orascom is building two more power plants along with Siemens, and has entered a consortium with Abu Dhabi-based International Petroleum Investment Corporation to build a coal-fired plant with a capacity of up to 3,000MW.
Company chief executive Osama Bishai said, “We 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.”