A consortium comprising South Korea’s Doosan Enerability and power engineering company Sepco3 has secured a major contract worth 2.2 trillion won ($1.52 billion) to build two combined cycle power plants in Saudi Arabia – Rumah 1 and Nairyah 1 – with a total capacity of 3,600 MW.

The contract was awarded by the developer consortium of Saudi utility major Acwa Power, Korea Electric Power Corporation (Kepco) and Saudi Electricity Company (SEC).

The Rumah 1 and Nairyah 1 facilities, each with a capacity of 1,800 MW, are key projects launched under Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 initiative. The Rumah 1 is located about 80 km east of the capital Riyadh, while the Nairyah 1 plant is located 50 km north of Al Nairyah in the Eastern Province.

Last November, the Acwa Power consortium had signed the power purchase agreement with the principal buyer Saudi Power Procurement Company (SPPC). The project scope includes development, financing, construction, ownership and operation of these plants.

Meanwhile, Siemens Energy, a global leader in energy technology, has been awarded a $1.6-billion project to provide key technologies for Rumah 2 and Nairyah 2 gas-fired power plants, which will add 3.6 GW of power to the national grid.

Rumah 2 and Nairyah 2 will rank among the world’s largest combined-cycle power plants. They will replace aging oil-fired stations, reducing CO2 emissions by up to 60 per cent compared to traditional oil-based power generation.

Additionally, the plants are being designed to be compatible with advanced CO2 capture and storage technologies, supporting Saudi Arabia’s long-term emissions reduction goals, it stated.

Harbin Electric International is the EPC contractor for the project which includes long-term maintenance agreements to support the plants’ operational reliability over the next 25 years.

Core components for the power plants will be manufactured at the Siemens Energy Dammam Hub, which is currently expanding to increase local production.

Under this contract, Siemens Energy will supply six SGT6-9000HL gas turbines, four SST6-5000 steam turbines, eight SGen6-3000W generators, two SGen6-2000P generators, and associated auxiliary equipment, with each site generating approximately 1.8 gigawatts of electricity.

The Rumah 2 and Nairyah 2 will initially be integrated into the grid in simple cycle mode in 2027, transitioning to full operation as combined-cycle power plants by the following year, according to Siemens.