On 4 July, Siemens PG and the Kuwaiti ministry of energy also signed a long-term maintenance agreement for the gas turbine part of the plant. This is the first time that the Kuwaiti government has awarded a service contract for a power plant of this size.

Siemens will perform the maintenance for the eight gas turbines for the upcoming five years and will also supply replacement parts for the turbines and generators.

In 2005, the power generation group of Siemens AG (Siemens PG) had built Az Zour as a gas turbine power plant with a capacity of 1000 megawatts. The power plant, which is located 80 km south of Kuwait City, can be fired with either natural gas or oil.

Of the total €600-million Az Zour extension contracr, approximately €350 million was secured by Siemens PG. The plant will be extended in two phases: Unit 1 is scheduled to start commercial operation in March 2010, with Unit 2 coming on line in June 2010.

In a consortium with the Belgianm''s Cockerill Maintenance & Ingénierie (CMI) and the local partner Alghanim International, Siemens received the turnkey order for extension of Az Zour to form a combined cycle power plant.

In addition to the steam turbine packages the Siemens PG, the scope of supply also encompasses the water / steam cycle, the turbine building, the transformers, and the entire electrical and instrumentation and control equipment.

CMI is to supply the heat-recovery steam generators. For the first time Siemens will supply a plant configuration with four heat-recovery steam generators connected to a single steam turbine. This environment-friendly utilisation of exhaust heat will save valuable fuel and simultaneously reduce plant emissions.

"At approximately 15,000 kWh Kuwait''s per capita power consumption is among the highest worldwide," said Klaus Voges, president, Siemens Power Generation. Demand will continue its upward trend as a result of the pronounced growth in population.

"The extension will uprate Az Zour by about 560 MW to 1600 MW. The power plant will make a significant contribution toward meeting the country''s growing power demand in an economical and environmentally compatible manner," added Voges.