DOHA: Qatar, which now has a power surplus, plans to set up an electricity plant with a capacity of up to 5,000 megawatts by 2016 to meet rising demand, said a senior official of Qatar Electricity & Water Co (QEWC). "At this stage there are plans to build a power plant to be used from 2016 onwards that is able to supply likely between 3,000 and 5,000 megawatts, or three to four years' requirement," QEWC's managing director, Fahad Al Mohannadi, told Reuters in an interview. Work on the plant is expected to begin by 2013, he said. Qatar, the world's largest exporter of liquefied natural gas (LNG), has budgeted 15 billion riyals ($4.1 billion) to spend over the next three years on electricity and water projects. "We have a power surplus, even taking into consideration the growth of the country's population and economy. We sent power to Bahrain a month or six weeks ago, and we have sent it to Kuwait in the past. Power exchange is happening regularly." "We have surplus power and are ready to supply other (Gulf Arab) countries whenever needed," Mohannadi said. The Gulf state's generation capacity is about 7,600 MW now and is set to increase to 8,800 MW by 2011. Demand is about 5,100 MW, and could grow to 8,500 by 2015, according to state-run utility QEWC, which is also known as Kahramaa. An increasing number of governments in the world's top oil-exporting region are turning to private sector partners to meet demand for power and water, which are surging in tandem with economic growth. QEWC is bidding for Greenfield power and water projects in Oman and is also in discussion with Syria to build a 500 megawatt power plant, Mohannadi said. There has been a noticeable reduction in the number of reputable contractors in the Gulf market, he said. "A great concern is that from the recession, important players have disappeared from the market. Heavy penalties on contractors have weakened them. These are some of the challenges facing investors for coming projects in the region in the future."
