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Construction firm to build R585m gas-fired electricity plant supplied by GE
Group Five gets Nigerian power project
September 27, 2005
By Roy Cokayne
Pretoria - Group Five, the listed infrastructure company, has been awarded a R585 million contract for the design, supply and construction of a 180 megawatt gas-fired power plant to be supplied by General Electric (GE) for Ibom Power in Nigeria.
The contract, awarded to Group Five Engineering Projects, is the largest contract the company has won in west Africa and constitutes its first project in the independent or deregulated African power market.
Construction on the Ibom plant, situated in the southern Akwa Ibom region on the Niger River delta, will start this month. It is scheduled to be completed by December next year.
Mike Lomas, Group Five's chief executive, said yesterday that the contract signalled the company's successful entry into the independent African power market and proved the success of its business in west Africa, a region it had worked in since 1995.
"In line with our strategy of tapping into the oil and gas sectors in Africa, we have ensured that our engineering business is ready for the expected large turnkey projects flowing from the power generation and distribution sector on the continent.
"This contract is the start of a new era for us and the result of hard work to ensure we can service this exciting and growing sector," he said. Lomas added that the contract further cemented Group Five's relationship with GE.
He said Group Five provided turnkey design, supply and construction expertise when it worked with GE. The US company handled design, supply and overall plant commissioning expertise appropriate to its leading gas turbine technology.
GE will supply a Frame 9 gas turbine, with Group Five Engineering being the main contractor and Group Five Civil Engineering undertaking the civils and building work.
Abdullah Taibah, GE Energy's regional executive and general manager for the Middle East and Africa, said the continent was a growth region for GE.
Gareth Wilcox, the managing director of Ibom Power, said the project was awarded to the team of GE and Group Five after a competitive international bid. The Nigerian group looked forward to the successful completion of the first phase of the plant and "the fulfilment of our goal to provide constant electricity to consumers in the region".
Ibom Power was formed in 2001 as an independent power producer to enhance power generation in the southeast region of Nigeria through the existing national grid and to eventually provide power to the proposed 100 000 barrel-a-day Akwa Ibom petroleum refinery and the industrial area adjacent to the power plant.
The Nigerian government plans to increase power generation capacity to 10 000MW in the next two years. The Group Five project forms part of the creation of an independent power plant designed to generate 685MW from the country's abundant natural gas resources.
Group Five shares rose 2.78 percent to R18.50 on the JSE yesterday. The construction and building materials sector rose 0.23 percent.
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