PORT-OF-SPAIN (Trinidad Express):

THE TRINIDAD and Tobago Electricity Commission (T&TEC) has awarded Finnish engineering company, Wartsila Corporation, an almost $500 million contract to supply a dual-fuel power plant in Tobago.

The dual-fuel power plant will run on natural gas and light fuel oil.

T&TEC corporate communications manager Stephen Martel on Wednesday confirmed a statement posted on Wartsila's website which said the company acquired "a contract in November 2007 by Trinidad and Tobago Electricity Commission (T&TEC), the national electric utility in the twin-island Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, to supply a dual-fuel power plant, which runs both on natural gas and light fuel oil".

"The contract is valued at approximately US$77 million.

First plant of its kind

"This baseload power plant will be the first natural gas-reciprocating engine plant of its kind in the region," the company added.

The statement also explained that the Wartsila power plant will be commissioned in September 2009 and will be located at the Cove Industrial Estate in Tobago.

The power plant will supply electricity to Tobago and also transmit power to Trinidad via two existing submarine cables, Wartsila said.

The release added: "Wartsila will also operate the Cove plant for an initial period of five years under a full operations and maintenance agreement."

The Wartsila statement quoted T&TEC general manager Indarjit Singh as saying: "Wartsila was selected as the contractor for this new gas-fired power plant in Tobago following a rigorous tendering and evaluation process.

"With clean-burning natural gas as the primary fuel, this new dual-fired, high-efficiency plant will augment the country's baseload generation capacity and will fully meet Tobago's demand, presently at 40MW, for at least the next 10 years."