''We are in charge of design review, shop floor inspection, site supervision of construction/testing/commissioning, project management and guidance. The main project contractor is Reyrolle (Rolls Royce Group) of the UK assisted by sub-contractor Saudi Sadelmi Technical Construction Company (Sadelmi Group of Italy).

''We are also attending to the interface between SS-9009 (exporting station) and the generating station PP-9 project which is being supervised by Electrowatt Engineering Services Limited, Switzerland.''

The project was launched in July 1995.

Work on S/S 9008 is being implemented at a cost of SR452 million.

''The project involves setting up a 380/132 kV substation underneath an existing 380 kV double-circuit overhead line and reconfiguring the line through this substation on completion,'' he explains.

The job consists of the following:

ABCE's role involves overall project management, coordination and guidance; design review of all project drawings; shop floor inspection of all major plant items; and site supervision of construction including testing and commissioning. The main contractor is Reyrolle (VATech Croup) assisted by subcontractor Saudi Sadelmi Technical Construction Company.

The third substation, S/S 9011, is being built at a cost of SR207 million at Howtat Sudair, 180 km away from Riyadh.

The 380kV/132 kV GIS substation is stationed approximately midway between a 380 kV double-circuit overhead transmission line and substations S/S 9009 and S/S 9010. The supergrid substation 9011 is intended to meet the power infeed requirement of the surrounding 132 kV substations through 132 kV underground and overhead transmission line networks, Dr Hamad explains.

The project entails:

ABCE was responsible for overall project management, coordination and guidance; design review of all project drawings; shop floor inspection of all major plant items/equipment; and site supervision of construction including testing and commissioning.

The main contractor for the project is Siemens of Germany.

''The contract period of the project is 27 months and all the allied works/supplies are progressing smoothly on schedule. The substation is expected to be commissioned in March 2002,'' says Dr Hamad.

The Riyadh-based ABCE is a Saudi company owned by Engineer Mohamed AlBawardy. Its engineering team - consisting of professionals well-qualified and experienced in 380 kV substations, transmission lines, MSF and SWRO (seawater reverse osmosis) desalination plants - has completed several projects in the Kingdom.

ABCE has capabilities for preparing project specifications, feasibility studies, system design, tender documentation, tender evaluation, design review, site supervision, testing and commissioning.

Since its inception in 1978, ABCE has successfully completed engineering consultancy supervision of several projects in the Kingdom for clients including ministries and the SEC in the central, eastern and southern regions.

''For the Ministry of Industry and Electricity, ABCE has done a 25-year master electrification plan, consisting of generation, transmission, substations and distribution for Saudi Arabia, entirely prepared by its own specialised team,'' says Dr Hamad. ''Major aspects of this planning include the complete load forecast, system interconnections, power generation, transmission and distribution planning, economics and recommendations for the planned development.''

The company has witnessed a steady growth in business year on year. ''The construction in Saudi Arabia is not as good as it has been last year,'' Dr Hamad comments. ''However, ABCE is hopeful of better prospects for the sector the coming year.''

Over the recent past, the company has carried out consultancy supervision of the construction of various 380 kV, 132 kV substations and overhead lines in the eastern, western, southern and central regions, which have been built by leading contractors including Mitsui & Company of Japan, NEIReyrolle of the UK, MerlinGerin of France, VATech of Austria and Siemens, Germany.

It has also been responsible for consultancy supervision of various desalination plants (multi-stage flash - MSF, reverse osmosis based) for the Saline Water Conversion Corporation (SWCC) in Riyadh and Jubail as well as in Bahrain, which were built by WeirWestgarth of the UK and Preussag of Germany.

ABCE has successfully completed the consultancy supervision of a 10 million gallons per day (mgpd) SWRO desalination plant in Bahrain.

Another project, a 20 mgpd SWRO desalination plant at Jubail for the same client, is expected to be completed by March next year. Work on the SR649 million plant started in January 1993. It is being built by a consortium of Preussag Saudi Arabia and Yuksel Insaat Saudia.

''The project is a modern computer-controlled reverse osmosis plant with state-of-the-art equipment. The plant is designed to produce 90,920 cu m/day of potable water with total dissolved solids (TDS) less than 450 mg/litre and chlorides less than 250 mg/litre from raw sea water with TDS ranging from 42,000 to 46,500 ppm and at temperatures from 20 to 35 deg C,'' he explains. ''As a turnkey consultancy project, ABCE was involved from the design stage and is working to complete the commissioning stage.''

ABCE, which has a staff of 100, also has offices in Hotat Sudair, near Majmah and in Jubail.