Dewa seeks private sector help on new plant

Dubai, January 13, 2010

Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (Dewa) has taken the initial step toward ordering its first privately-operated power and water plant as it looks to cut costs, said the government utility's chief executive on Wednesday.

Dewa has issued a tender seeking consultants to advise it on the construction and evelopment of the Hassyan power plant, Dewa chief executive Saeed Mohammed al-Tayer told Reuters in an interview.

Dubai's government utility plans to commission Hassyan, which would have capacity of 1,500 MW, as an Independent Water and Power Project (IWPP) after three previous tenders for the project failed to find a bid that Dewa considered attractive, Tayer said.

To date, Dubai's power and water sector has been government-owned and operated, with plants handed over to the public sector after construction.

Dewa is also seeking to issue a new bond in the second-quarter of 2010, Tayer said. He declined to give details of the size of the debt issue or how the cash would be used.

Power demand in Dubai grew 6.3 per cent in 2009 to 5,622 MW and would probably grow at a similar rate this year, he said.-Reuters

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