A total of 10 companies have replied to Enemalta’s request, issued in December, for proposals for the construction of a new power plant.

The 10 companies are the following: General Electric (Italy), MAN (Germany), BWSC (Denmark), Wartsila (Finland), Contour Global (UK), METKA (Greece), Isolux (Spain), Gallo Spa (Italy), Mitsui and Co (UK) and BHEL (India).

However, during a clarification meeting at the Delimara Power Station on 15 December, it was noted that there were no representatives from the Italian company Franco Tosi, Alstom and Siemens.

Sources said the four favourites for this project are General Electric – which offers a combined cycle power plant – MAN, BWSC and Wartsila, which offer a diesel engine plant.

All four companies have an in-house plant and have long experience in building similar plants.

Combined cycle power plants could burn either diesel oil or gas reaching an efficiency of 48 per cent on oil while diesel engines could run on diesel oil, gas or heavy oil with an efficiency as high as 45 per cent in combined cycle form.

The winning company will have to abide by the emission control regulations issued by the EU.

Unlike the power stations currently in use, the new plant will also be subject to stringent emission control levels in terms of the dangerous pollutants carbon dioxide, sulphur dioxide, nitrogen oxide and ammonia.

The candidates are required by Enemalta to have a 10-year track record in generation plant construction and have available management resources with experience in turnkey design, supply, installation and commissioning of a power plant.

Additionally, the candidate must have “extensive experience” in generation plant construction and operation. The candidate will also have undertaken and successfully completed at least two similar projects over the last five years, with each of the two plants having been in successful operation for at least 10,000 hours by the time of tendering.

The candidate must also have been the main contractor in the turnkey design, supply, installation, and commissioning of at least five fossil fuel fired power stations or other “power islands”, with each such plant having been in successful commercial operation for at least 10,000 hours.

The new plant can either be built at a designated site at Delimara Power Station or on a more suitable location “if it is more advantageous to their plant subject to the necessary permit from various agencies”.

Enemalta is considering two options for the project’s implementation: a build-and-transfer contract, which would consist of a turnkey contract for the supply and construction of the plant, and a build-own-and-operate contract, which would see the successful bidder entering into a power purchase agreement with Enemalta.

The 100MW power plan must be capable of “being continuously operated on liquid fossil fuels as the main energy source,” according to the document.

If the candidate deems such fuels inappropriate, Enemalta will consider the use of alternate fuels, provided the fuel in question is in line with EU and Maltese legislation. If the candidate for the new plant selects an alternative fuel, the candidate would have to provide for the supply and local storage of the alternative fuel. However, the Corporation made it clear that the availability of other storage sites at the Delimara power station “is extremely limited”.

As such, if an alternative fuel is to be used for the new plant, it would undoubtedly have to be within the context of a third power plant site, in addition to Marsa and Delimara, or with the fuel being stored off site.

The closing date for the submission of proposals is 20 February 2007, after which the number of companies will be short-listed to submit a tender.