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Abu Dhabi may name 5th IWPP developer in Oct.

ABU DHABI - Abu Dhabi Government is expected to officially announce the name of the developer for the fifth independent water and power project (IWPP) by October 2004, said sources from power sector.

The Taweelah B project which is the fifth IWPP based in Abu Dhabi with a 1000MW capacity and 85 million imperial gallons per day (MIGD) is reported to have three bidders. Japan-based Marubeni, Tractabel and International Power, and Total are said to be the three.

Total and Tractabel, have already handled the 1350MW and 84 MIGD Taweelah A.

Meanwhile, Shuweihat S1 Power and Desalination Project the third IWPP which has a estimate project cost of $1.5 billion is in the final phase of its construction and will be commissioned at a'greenfield' site near Ruwais, Jebel Dhana. The IWPP will be equipped for commercial generation by the year-end. The S1 Project located approximately 260-kilometres west of the city of Abu Dhabi, when completed, will provide a total of 1500 mega watts (MW) of power to the Abu Dhabi and Western Region grids, as well as 100 MIGD of potable water. The Plant will provide approximately 21 per cent of the power generation capacity and 17 per cent of the water production capacity of Abu Dhabi when in operation by the year-end.

The plant is being built under a Turnkey Agreement with Siemens AG and Fisia Italimpianti covering all aspects of design, procurement, manufacturing, transport, construction and commissioning. The fixed price of the Turnkey Agreement is $1.222 billion, with the total costs for development of the Project budgeted at $1.568 billion. The Project includes construction of seawater intake facilities, a distillate treatment plant, 100 million gallons of potable water storage, as well as 220kV and 400kV switchyards to evacuate power from the site and a potable water pumping station with a capacity of 175 MIGD. Water production from the site utilises MSF distillers over 20 per cent larger than any units ever constructed.

The S1 Project is the third Independent Water and Power Project (IWPP) of the Abu Dhabi Water and Electricity Authority (ADWEA), and is being developed by Shuweihat CMS International Power Company (SCIPCo). The shareholders in SCIPCo include Shuweihat Power Company with 60 per cent shares, a direct ADWEA Subsidiary, and Shuweihat Limited Partnership with a stake of 40 per cent, a 50:50 joint venture between International Power (IPr) and CMS Energy (CMS).

Shuweihat O&M Partnership Limited, a 50/50 joint venture between IPr and CMS, will undertake the long-term operations and maintenance of the S1 Plant. Establishment of the S1 Project has followed the model used by ADWEA on all its privatisation projects to date, in that all assets of the Project are held by the Project Company, as well as the licenses to produce power and water, the contracts for the financing, design, construction and commissioning of the Plant, the agreement for connection to the distribution grids and the agreement to sell the power and water production to the Abu Dhabi Water and Electricity Company (ADWEC).