Turkish energy company Enka has announced that it has joined with German engineer Siemens to build two thermal power plants in Libya.
They are to consist of a 650MW simple cycle plant in the coastal city of Misrata (pictured), about 190km east of Tripoli, and a similar 671MW plant in western Tripoli. They are designed for completion next year in a construction schedule that reflects the country’s chronic lack of power.
The General Electricity Company of Libya (GECOL), which signed the deals with Enka and Siemens, is trying to end black-outs that run to more than 20 hours a day in some areas. The crisis has led to protest movements and calls for the removal of GECOL’s board of directors.
Siemens is supplying two turbines for each of the plants -SGT5-PAC 4000F models in Misrata and SGT5-PAC 2000Es in Tripoli. Both can be fuelled either by light fuel oil or natural gas.
Istanbul-based Enka is active in about 30 countries around the world, and has been active in Libya, despite the nine-year civil war. In November, three of its engineers were kidnapped in the southwest of the country and freed after 233 days of captivity.
Image: Misrata is the third largest city in Libya (Mrwan elGobee/CC BY-SA 4.0)
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