General Electric has won a contract worth around 2.1 billion riyals ($560 million) to supply Saudi Electricity Co (SEC) with gas and steam turbines for two new power plants in Riyadh, sources familiar with the deal said.

The utility company announced the contract award on Wednesday but did not name the winner, and a spokesman declined to comment further. A General Electric spokesman in Saudi Arabia could not be reached for comment.

Twelve gas units and four steam turbines will be built and tested within 40 months, SEC said in a statement. The company is investing billions of dollars in projects to meet electricity demand that is rising by around 9 percent annually.

SEC did not provide the capacity of the two power plants but an industry source said each would have a capacity of between 1,600 and 1,950 megawatts. An engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) tender for the plants is expected to be issued soon, he said. - Reuters