State-controlled Saudi Electricity Company (SEC) has started up part of its new 2,640 MW Jeddah South power plant and linked it to the grid. The SR11.9-billion ($3.12 billion) project will help meet growing electricity demand from the western region particularly for infrastructure projects in Makkah and Madinah.

“After three-and-a-half years of continuous work, Saudi Electricity Company has successfully operated and linked the first steam unit to the electricity grid with a capacity of 660 MW,” SEC said.