Kuwait secures $81.9 million deal to strengthen electric grid with GCCIA partnership
The project to build two overhead power lines will enable the transfer of electricity from the new Al-Wafra station, expected to be completed by next December, to the Sabah Al-Ahmad residential stations.
The Central Agency for Public Tenders has approved the Ministry of Electricity, Water, and Renewable Energy’s request to directly contract with the Gulf Cooperation Council Interconnection Authority (GCCIA) for the $81.9 million project to build two overhead power lines from the new Al-Wafra station to the Sabah Al-Ahmad residential stations (Z3, Z4).
The ministry sources stated that the project will allow the transfer of electricity from Al-Wafra station, expected to be completed by next December, to the two Sabah Al-Ahmad stations. They also noted that Al-Wafra station will link Kuwait’s power grid with Saudi Arabia’s, facilitating future connections between the Gulf grid and Iraq.
The sources pointed out that the operation of the Al-Wafra station would increase the electrical capacity of the Gulf interconnection network from 1,000 MW to 2,500 MW, which will help the Kuwait network benefit from this station to offset part of the expected power shortage during the upcoming summer season, according to Al Anba newspaper.
In a separate development, the Central Agency for Public Tenders announced tenders for the supply and operation of a photovoltaic cell system on car shelters at key facilities and the Ministry’s Emergency Services Department in the Sabhan area.
Sources explained that the Central Agency for Public Tenders decided to accept 11 bids from the applicants and excluded one in accordance with Article 45 of the Public Tenders Law.
The sources stated that the agency opened the tenders during its seventh current meeting, and the bids are scheduled to be referred to the Ministry of Electricity, Water and Renewable Energy for review and preparation of a technical recommendation, on which the award decision will be based, considering both the financial and technical merits. The highest bid was 4.727 million dinars, while the lowest was 2.229 million dinars.
The sources added that this tender is part of the ministry’s renewable energy projects, noting that the project is expected to produce about 7,000 kW (peak) to supply energy to the ministry’s buildings and facilities through renewable sources rather than fossil fuels.
In a related development, the Ministry of Electricity, Water, and Renewable Energy announced that it will be conducting maintenance on some secondary switching stations across the six governorates, which will lead to temporary power outages in certain areas. The ministry stated via its official ‘X’ platform account that the maintenance work began yesterday and will continue until the 19th of this month.
