Saudi Electricity Company (SEC) is to sign contracts for an industrial power plant in the Shuaiba region costing SR4 billion, Alriyadh Arabic daily reported, citing a source. According to the source, Ali Bin Saleh Al-Barrak, CEO of Saudi Electricity Company, confirmed the upcoming deal, detailing that the power plant will generate 1,200 megawatts and support the industrial sector of Jeddah. Funding for the scheme is expected to come from state-approved loans of SR65 billion. An architect has not yet been announced for the project. Meanwhile, private-owned Shuaiba Water and Electricity Company (SWEC) has started operating its Shuaiba-3 plant at full capacity, a report said. The plant has capacity to generate 900 megawatts of electricity, and 800,000 cubic meters of desalinated water per day, Al-Hayat newspaper reported. The plant burns crude oil for fuel, according to the SEC website. The Kingdom has increased burning of crude this year to keep new oil wells pumping and to produce cleaner power. The plant will supply the grid in the Western region, feeding the cities of Makkah, Jeddah and Taif. "The continued increase in population density in the Kingdom lead to the increasing need for the consumption of electricity and desalinated water," Al Hayat quoted Yahya Al Yahya, head of SWEC's board of directors, as saying.