Tenders will be called within the next two weeks for the new 'L' power and desalination station project, according to Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, general manager of Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (Dewa).

The project will raise 700 MW of power and a 70 MIGD desalination plant. The first phase of the project is to be ready by end 2003.

Meanwhile, steady progress is being made on the 'K' station project, Al Tayer added. On another front, Dewa has formally signed a supply, installation and commissioning contract with Saudi Cable Co. for a 55 kilometre, 400 kV single-circuit overhead transmission line. The contract, valued at Dh18.71 million, also covers substation modification.

The transmission line will stretch between the 'D' repowering station in Jebel Ali and the 'H' station at Al Aweer. The line will transmit the produced electricity from the D station to the distribution networks through the transmission lines.

Added Al Tayer: "The company was chosen after we were satisfied that all the terms and conditions would be met. SCC's price is competitive as well."

An SCC subsidiary, Mass Projects for Power and Telecom, has been working on the project since the start of the year, and will be completing it by end August. Tenders were called in mid 2001, said an SCC official.

There were another ten companies which were in the reckoning for the Dewa contract, the SCC official added. SCC is also in the running for another recent tender floated by Dewa, which is for a 132 kV underground cabling system. A decision has not been made so far.

Said Dr. Waheeb Linjawi, group president of SCC, "This agreement with Dewa forms the nucleus of future cooperation between the two companies.

"This shows the support for GCC products and companies, and assures that economic benefits will flow to GCC companies rather than foreign ones."