/ 16 May 2008

Eskom awards R2,9bn power-station contract

Eskom has awarded a R2,9-billion contract to a consortium of South African companies for the construction of the main civil works at its Medupi power station in Limpopo, the utility said on Friday.

A consortium made up of Murray & Roberts, Grinaker-LTA Civil Engineering and Concor was awarded the contract.

”Medupi will be the biggest dry-cooled power station in the world with a capacity of 4 800MW,” said Brian Dames, Eskom’s chief officer for generation.

The first unit is scheduled for completion in 2012 and the entire station is scheduled to be completed by 2015.

Dames said Medupi was one of Eskom’s key installations in the New Build programme geared towards closing the current supply-demand gap.

The contract covered the construction of roads, drains, foundations, column supports, floor slabs, basements and all civil engineering work, Dames said.

”Also included are the utility spine and connectors beneath an auxiliary bay, the boiler house and turbine hall,” he said.

Work on the site is expected to commence soon. — Sapa