GDF Suez has signed a 20-year Power and Water Purchase Agreement for the Shuweihat 2 power generation and seawater desalination plant in Abu Dhabi.

Shuweihat 2, independent power and water project (IPWP), is a greenfield, natural gas-fired installation that will deliver 1,500 MW of electricity and 454,610 cu m per day of water.

The plant will be located in the west of the emirate, approximately 280 km from Al Taweelah, another power generation and desalination plant in which GDF Suez has a 20 per cent stake.

Completion and start-up of the Shuweihat 2 plant is scheduled for 2011. The cost of the project has not been revealed.

GDF Suez owns 40 per cent of Shuweihat 2, with the remaining 60 per cent owned by Abu Dhabi Water and Electricity Authority (Adwea), which issued the tender. An affiliate of Adwea, the Abu Dhabi Water and Electricity Company (Adwec) is the sole off-taker of the output in the plant, as stipulated in the agreement.

Dirk Beeuwsaert, CEO of GDF Suez Energy International, said: “With Shuweihat 2, we now have 10
plants in our Middle East portfolio, the majority combining power and desalination. They represent over
12,000 MW of electricity and 2 million cu.m. of water per day, an increasingly significant part of GDF Suez’s overall energy assets. We firmly believe in the energy and water opportunities in the Gulf, which offer longterm off-take contracts within a well-developed legal framework in a region with strong growth.”

Demand for power in the UAE is surging due to the population growth and an industrial boom, fuelled by record oil prices. Abu Dhabi aims to raise power generation capacity by 35 per cent over the next
five years, with demand for power rising by almost 80% by 2012. Water demand is estimated to grow at 5 per cent per year.

Adwea is planning to launch a similar project, Shuweihat 3, within the coming months to cope with the country’s energy and water needs. - TradeArabia News Service