RIYADH – Saudi Electricity Company said a consortium led by Abu Dhabi National Energy Company and comprising Samsung Engineering and Qatar Electricity & Water Company had made the lowest bid for the Rabigh 2 project. A source said that the bidding consortium will enter into exclusive talks with SEC and if selected will jointly own 50 percent of the project company along with SEC. TAQA's bid ranked ahead of four other consortiums that bid for the plant, including groups headed by Saudi based ACWA Power, South Korea's Kepco and Japan's Marubeni. Rabigh 2 is a green field heavy fuel oil power plant, the fourth project in SEC's IPP program. It is located 175 kilometers north of Jeddah on the west coast of the Kingdom. Samsung and Alstom are the selected engineering, procurement and construction contractors, while the electricity generated by the plant will be sold via a 25 year power purchase agreement to SEC. TAQA whose controlling shareholder is the Abu Dhabi government, owns an interest in the 250 MW Jubail power plant in Saudi Arabia. The financial close for the project is scheduled for before March 31, 2013. – Reuters
