Morocco’s Jorf Lasfar Energy Company has awarded the contract for the development of a 700MW coal-fired power plant in Morocco.
The engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract has been awarded to a consortium of Japan’s Mitsui and South Korea-based Daewoo E&C. The consortium will construct two new units (5&6), each with a gross capacity of 350MW, at the existing Jorf Lasfar power plant site (currently four units each generating 350MW) near El Jadida.
The two companies will also install the first flue-gas desulfurization system to be used in a Moroccan power plant.
Flue-gas desulfurization is a process by which sulfur dioxide (SO2) can be removed from the exhaust flue gases of fossil fuel power plants.
Commercial operation of unit 5 is expected to commence in December 2013, with unit 6 expected to commence operation in April 2014.
The contract is valued at approximately $1.1 billion, making it one of the largest power plant EPC projects ever awarded to a Japanese company in North Africa, Mitsui said in a statement.
The company went on to say: “The award to Mitsui and Daewoo of the EPC contract to expand the Jorf Lasfar Power Plant 5&6 is the first important step in Mitsui's broader strategy to proactively develop power and other infrastructure projects in the economically-emergent countries of North Africa.”
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries will supply steam turbines for the contract, and IHI Corporation will supply the boilers.
Jorf Lasfar Energy Company is the first independent power producer in Morocco. It will operate the new units 5&6 under a 30-year power purchase agreement.
