Business & Finance Club - Riyadh : US-based SPX Corporation said its Thermal Equipment and Services segment has won a $41 million contract to design two air cooled condenser dry cooling systems for the Riyadh PP11 power plant to be set up in the Saudi capital.

Riyadh PP11 is being developed by GDF Suez-France and Haljomaih Holding Company-Saudi Arabia, is scheduled to be operational in 2012.

Haljomaih Holding will jointly own and operate the combined cycle power plant along with Saudi Electricity Company and Sojitz Corporation-Japan.

The formal agreement was signed by SPX and Hyundai Heavy Industries Korea, which is spearheading the design, engineering, construction, installation, testing and commissioning for the Riyadh PP11 project.

As per the contract, SPX will design, manufacture and supervise the construction and commissioning of the  new air cooled condenser dry cooling systems, said its top official.

'The Middle East continues to be an important developing region for SPX due to increasing demand for energy and continued power infrastructure expansion,' said SPX chairman, president and chief executive officer Christopher J. Kearney.

'To date, SPX has helped establish new dry cooled power stations in Bahrain, Qatar, Jordan and now, Saudi Arabia. The Riyadh PP11 project also marks SPX's largest contract to date in Saudi Arabia and we look forward to working with Hyundai Heavy Industries toward the power plant's successful completion,' he noted.

Located 125 km from Riyadh in Riyadh Central Province, Riyadh PP11 is expected to produce 1,730 MW of electricity and be Saudi Arabia's largest combined cycle gas-fired power station.

SPX Cooling Technologies' air cooled condenser system features the company's proprietary dry cooling technology and is designed  for large power plants located in areas that are arid or subject to restricted water usage, said a senior SPX official.

'Building power plants in arid regions of the world has traditionally presented several challenges, especially in terms of cooling systems,' said Drew Ladau, SPX segment president.

'Our innovative air cooled condenser dry cooling technology is engineered with an energy efficient design that requires minimal water consumption, and thus allows power plants to be built in even the driest environments in order to meet increased power demand,' he added.

SPX has agreed to provide engineering services on the Riyadh PP11 project immediately and first equipment deliveries are planned for the first quarter of 2011.

According to Abdullah Al-Shehri, governor for regulatory affairs at the Electricity and Cogeneration Regulatory Authority, Saudi Arabia's electricity demand is expected to triple, increasing from about 40,000 MW to 121,000 MW in 2032.

'This is driven by the region's growth in population and by the country's forecasted gross domestic product growth,' he added.

The Riyadh PP11 project has been planned at a time when Saudi Arabia is experiencing eight per cent annual growth in electricity demand, according to Industrial Info Resources.

SPX's Thermal Equipment and Services segment is a leading provider of wet, dry and hybrid cooling towers, heat exchanges, air and flue gas systems and filter systems, utilized by thousands of power stations and plants in over 60 countries across six continents.

The segment's broad offering enables the maintaining, refurbishing, upgrading and modernizing of power stations, and includes a wide range of aftermarket services and solutions.-