Saudi Electricity Company (SEC) announced on 30 March that a signing ceremony for the power purchase agreement for the Rabigh-2 independent power producer (IPP) project would take place on 8 April. This will mark the end of a bidding process that saw a consortium of Riyadh-based ACWA Power International, South Korea’s Samsung and Dubai-based MENA Infrastructure Fund appointed as first ranked bidder (MEES, 18 January).

SEC has not announced any details of the final agreement with the ACWA-led consortium. The group’s bid of a 1.813gw capacity plant and an electricity cost of 8.82 hals($0.0235)/kilowatt-hour was not the lowest of the five submissions. A consortium led by Abu Dhabi National Energy Company (TAQA) proposed a 2.028gw plant with an electricity cost of 7.42 hals/kwh. SEC did ask TAQA to rebid based on a 1.8gw plant, but this made the project economics unattractive for the TAQA-led consortium. (CONTINUED - 589 WORDS)