POWER PLANT PLANNED FOR MUSSAFAH

Abu Dhabi's Water and Electricity Department, WED, is considering building a power plant at Mussafah to meet the electricity needs of the industrial area, a source close to the project said yesterday. "The plant will produce approximately 250.0 Megawatts of power per day using gas from Habshan as feedstock," the source told the Emirates News. The source said the plan has been designed to meet the rising demand for power in Mussafah, which at present is the only industrial zone close to Abu Dhabi city.

"In the absence of a comprehensive network to supply enough electricity to Mussafah industrial area, a power plant in the area was considered the best solution to meet the needs of the small-to-medium size of industries and workshops," the source said. He said the plant may be made a pre-offset project as there are a number of defence contractors who are looking for such projects and have the technology and the resources to set up a power plant. Shares in the plant, said the source, may also be offered to the public in line with the privatisation policy being undertaken by the Abu Dhabi Government.

The source went on to say that the setting up of a power plant which will produce electricity by using gas will be easier as the pipeline that carries gas from Habshan to Taweela passes close to Mussafah and be accessed easily. Due to a lack of power supply and the absence of access to the open sea, the Public Works Department, PWD, shelved plans to set up an industrial port in Mussafah last year. This saved the Abu Dhabi Government the millions of dirhams which it would otherwise have spent on laying a power network to enhance the electricity supply to Mussafah and to dredge a necessary channel.

The port will now be built at Taweela and bids for the consultancy contract have been submitted by eight international firms and award of the is expected in the near future. Taweela has open access to the sea and the nearby Taweela power and desalination plant can easily meet its power and water needs.

According to the Middle East Economic Digest, MEED, plans are underway to implement the expansion of the Taweela 'A' power plant and desalination plant as an independent power project, IPP. The decision is part of a wider policy initiative that suggests alternatives to government funding should be considered for all future projects aimed by increasing the emirate's electricity and water production. The move follows the submission of a study by the US consultant McKinsey & Company to the high-level Government committee, established last year, to look into the possible privatisation of the power and desalination sectors.