Hidd power plant - Phase II

On April 18 last year, the Ministry of Electricity and Water (MEW) signed a consultancy agreement with the Irish consultancy firm Electricity Supply Board International (ESBI), under which ESBI will provide the necessary services for the design and construction of Phase II of the Hidd power plant.

The project entails increasing the existing generation capacity at the station by installing additional 630 MW generation units. The project is planned to be commissioned in two stages commencing in 2003 and to be completed by 2004. When completed, the total capacity of the existing phase and the planned Phase II expansion will reach a total of 910 MW.

There are no plans to install additional desalination capacities in this phase. However, the plant will be designed with high efficiency in order to make optimum use of the country's natural gas reserve, which is being used as fuel for all of the ministry's power plants. It is also planned that the plant will employ state-of-the-art technologies to enable future expansion of the desalination units with minimal disruption and cost to the government.

The project has been tendered out and will be awarded to the successful bidder most probably by the first quarter of this year. Site construction works are planned to start by second quarter so as to commission an additional 230 MW for summer 2003, followed by an additional 400 MW in 2004, totalling to 630 MW for Hidd Phase II and 910 MW for Phase I and II combined.

Sitra station rehabilitation

On July 25 last year, the MEW signed a BD14.3 million ($37.93 million) construction agreement with a consortium of Anslado Energy/Austrian Energy.

Under this agreement, the consortium will carry out the necessary rehabilitation works for Sitra Power and Water Station Phase I boilers, steam turbines and their associated auxiliaries. This phase produces the steam requirements for the production of 20 million gallons per day (gpd) of distillate water and 100 MW of electricity.

Also on July 25, the ministry signed a BD1.8 million construction agreement with the Japanese construction firm Sasakura Engineering Company Limited, under which Sasakura will carry out the rehabilitation works for the plant's Phase I distiller units having a total capacity of 5 million gpd.

The construction works for both contracts include the rehabilitation of the 25-year-old boiler, steam turbine and distiller units to extend their service life until 2015 as well as measures required to be taken to ensure their safe and reliable operation.

The rehabilitation will include replacement/refurbishment of some of the critical plant components, structures and rotating equipment such as pumps and obsolete instrumentation and control systems since they have surpassed their service life.

The works commenced on site in mid-September and will be completed by April 2002.

The station has two other phases, which add up the production to a total of 125 MW of electricity and 25 million gpd of distillate water.

Riffa plant Phase I rehabilitation

The MEW signed a consultancy agreement with the American consultancy firm, The Kuljian Corporation in 1999. The agreement includes providing the necessary engineering services for the electromechanical rehabilitation works of Phase I of Riffa Power Station commissioned in the late seventies.

The consultant will also prepare technical specifications, tendering documents and pre-qualification including evaluation of bids as well as supervise the implementation of rehabilitation works.

Major components and parts are planned for the refurbishment of the five gas turbines manufactured by Siemens with rated capacity of 50 MW each. Rehabilitation also includes repair of concrete chimney foundations as well as deteriorated associated civil structures. Obsolete instrumentation and controls will also be replaced with a state-of-the-art centralised process control system.

With total installed production capacity of 700 MW per day out of which Riffa I plant contributes 250 MW of electricity, Riffa Power Station is the major generation complex in the country. The works are expected to be completed in three stages ending by winter of 2004.

The refurbishment programme of the existing installations is considered an essential part of MEW's strategy to sustain the production and reliability of existing plants and prolong their service life in order to cope with the demand.

Ad-Dur plant rehabilitation

Back in 1998, the MEW signed a construction agreement with a consortium of Sasakura-Kawaski-Sumitomo of Japan for combined sums of BD2,333,895 and $14,233,698.

Under this agreement, the consortium will carry out the necessary rehabilitation works to Ad-Dur seawater reverse osmosis (RO) desalination plant as per the scope of work.

Ad-Dur RO Plant was handed over to the ministry in 1991.

Refurbishment will include upgrading of the feed seawater pretreatment system, replacement of RO membranes reaching the end of their working life, replacement of obsolete instrumentation and controls and upgrading to the post chemical treatment system.

The project is aimed at enhancing availability, reliability, productivity and safety of the RO plant.

220 kV system

On August 15 last year, the ministry signed a consultancy services agreement for the 220 kV transmission system development with Electricity Supply Board International of Ireland (ESBI) with a value of BD742,268.

The contract covers design and construction supervision of the system which will be implemented during 2001-2004. The consultant's scope of work will also cover preparation of technical specifications, project tender documents and the pre-qualification of all possible tenderers for these works.

The transmission system development will involve the construction of three new 220 kV substations at Madinat Hamad, Jasra and Alba Industrial Area and the reinforcement and expansion of three other stations at Umm Al Hassam, Isa Town and Hidd. The work will also include the interconnection of all these stations to the main transmission system.

This important main transmission system backbone expansion is aimed at enhancing the reliability of electricity supply to the various segments of the economy and specifically the domestic, industrial and commercial sectors.

The expansion also coincides with the planned interconnection of the GCC electricity network for which the political leadership in Bahrain and the GCC states give paramount attention.

Water transmission

Alba is constructing a coke calcining and water desalination plant near its marine terminal off the Sitra Island. The nominal capacity of the desalination plant is 9.0 million gpd.

The MEW is entering into an agreement with Alba for the purchase of the 9 million gpd of water. As part of this agreement, Alba will be remineralising the distillate water to comply with the potable water standards of Bahrain.

On its part, the MEW is implementing a project to transmit the water from the Alba plant to its water distribution stations at Sitra and Refinery Roundabout (East Riffa). An emergency connection is also being provided to transmit the water from Alba to the West Riffa blending station via the Refinery Roundabout station.

The project planning is nearing completion and detailed design will commence shortly.

A contract for conducting more than 100 trial holes along the transmission pipeline route has been completed, based on which the route is being finalised.

Contracts for soil resistivity survey and ground investigation along the pipeline route have been completed.

A contract for reclamation of a corridor behind the Bapco tank farm at Sitra was awarded last November. This work is in progress and is expected to finish by March.

A contract for the procurement of ductile iron pipes and fittings for the transmission pipelines is imminent. Presently, the evaluation of bids is nearing completion.

A consultancy services contract for detailed design and construction supervision of this project is about to be awarded. The evaluation of tenders is now in the final stages.

The detailed design and contract preparation for the installation of pipelines and construction of tanks and pumping stations will be taken up by the consultant appointed for this project.