Algerian state energy company Sonatrach said it has signed a DZ9.8 billion ($148 million) contract with a consortium of Italian companies for extention of the Alrar power plant project.

 The engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract was awarded to a team of Bonatti and Gavazzi Impianti, the company said.

The contract covers the addition of three 18-MW turbines at the site and the construction of a 66-kV substation and will be completed within 27 months.

The Alrar gas field is in southwestern Algeria, near the Libyan border. The extension of the plant will supply the field and nearby populations with power.

Sonatrach founded in 1963 is an Algerian government-owned company formed to exploit the hydrocarbon resources of the country.

Its diversified activities cover all aspects of production including exploration, extraction, transport, and refining. It has diversified into petrochemistry and the desalination of seawater. -TradeArabia News Service