Bahrain inaugurates new power and desalination plant

• 12 years ago (2012-05-02)
• Junior Isles

Middle East 326 North America 1021

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Hamad Bin Isa Al-Khalifa, King of Bahrain, has inaugurated Bahrain's largest independent power generation and water desalination plant owned by Al-Dur Power & Water Company.

The plant began commercial operations in February 2012 has a power capacity of 1234 MW and produces 218 000 m3 of clean water per day.

This is equivalent to approximately one-third of the Kingdom's total installed power capacity and water consumption requirements.

The plant has the potential to transform Bahrain from an importer of power at peak periods, to an exporter of power to other GCC countries.

Al Dur was developed at a total cost of $2.1 billion by International Power-GDF SUEZ and Gulf Investment Corporation. Its shareholders include several local Bahraini institutions: Social Insurance Organization, Bahrain Islamic Bank, Capital Management House, First Energy Bank and Instrata Capital.

"For water desalination, the plant is the first of its size in the Middle East to use reverse osmosis (RO), a technology that combines advanced technique with environmental preservation," said Phillip Cox, Chief executive officer of International Power.