GE Energy to supply turbines to Algeria

SCHENECTADY, N.Y., June 11 (UPI) -- U.S.-based GE Energy will help supply power in Algeria.

A new power plant featuring GE Energy's F-class gas turbines will help meet the growing energy needs in eastern Algeria. The plant is scheduled for completion in 2011.

Algerian electric company Shariket Karhaba Koudiet Eddraouch Spa, owned by Sonelgaz and Sonatrach, has awarded a contract to GE and its consortium partner, Spanish engineering firm Iberdrola Ingenieria y Construccion, for the construction of the Koudiet Eddraouch power plant in El-Tarf province. The project is worth about $1 billion.

GE is also in the process of signing a contractual services agreement to provide maintenance and parts for 20 years. The new facility is expected to produce 1,200 megawatts of power, which would increase Algeria's current installed generation capacity by approximately 18 percent.

According to the Ministry of Energy and Mining, Algeria's power requirements will reach 14,000 megawatts by 2010, as the country's economy continues to grow.