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Wednesday, 31 May 2023

A contract was signed with the contractor for the construction of Almaty CHPP-2

On May 31, 2023, a contract was signed in Almaty with a contractor for the construction of a new Almaty CHPP-2 on gas fuel. The EPC contract implies the implementation of a full cycle of work – design, supply of equipment, construction, installation and commissioning, commissioning. The new station will be built on the site of an existing thermal power plant, where coal is used as the main fuel, and fuel oil is used as the starting fuel.

The contractor for the construction of the new gas turbine power plant was a consortium of three large Chinese companies specializing in the implementation of energy projects: Dongfang Electric International Corporation, Powerchina Sepco1 Electric Power Construction Co., Ltd, Powerchina Hebei Electric Power Engineering Co., Ltd. The consortium is an alliance of companies, the first of which is a major manufacturer of industrial equipment, the second has experience in implementing projects on EPC terms, the third specializes in design.

This choice was determined by the results of a two-stage open international tender held according to international standards and rules of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) within the framework of the project "Modernization of Almaty CHP-2 with minimization of environmental impact". Recall that the tender for the definition of an EPC contractor was announced in October last year. In January 2023, the applications of the participants of the 1st stage of the competition (qualification selection) were opened. In total, applications were received from 6 participants. As part of the 2nd stage of the tender, two applications were considered. As a result, according to the rules of the EBRD, the competition is considered to have taken place and the bank at the end of May 2023 confirmed its winner – a consortium of three Chinese companies.

The signing of the EPC contract took place on the territory of Almaty CHPP-2, on the site allocated for the new station. The event was held with the participation of representatives of the Samruk-Kazyna Foundation, the Maslikhat of Almaty, the Consulate General of the People's Republic of China in Almaty, Samruk-Energo JSC. The contract was signed by Yerlan Kirkinbayev, Chairman of the Management Board of Almaty Electric Stations JSC (AlES), on the part of the customer, Mr.Jiang Lixiang, Deputy General Director of the International Marketing Department of Dongfang Electric International Corporation, on the part of the contractor.

According to the Almaty CHPP-2 modernization project, it is planned to build a gas turbine CHPP with an electric capacity of up to 600 MW and a thermal capacity of 957 Gcal/h. The station will include a housing of gas turbine units and a hot water boiler room. The aim of the project is to reduce the negative impact of the plant on the environmental situation of Almaty city by transferring CHP-2 to natural gas combustion. Completion of the project and commissioning of the station is planned in December 2026.

According to experts of JSC "Samruk-Energo", after modernization, reconstruction and conversion to gas of two Almaty stations – CHP-2 and CHP-3, emissions of harmful substances into the atmosphere of the city will decrease by 92%. The reduction will be achieved through the use of natural gas in efficient gas turbine installations that ensure emissions of harmful substances into the atmosphere at the level of the requirements of the European Union. In addition, as a result of replacing the main fuel of coal with gas, the formation and burial of ash and slag waste is excluded. Evaporative fields for the disposal of industrial effluents are provided on the site of the existing ash dump.

Also, according to the specialists of JSC "Samruk-Energo", the project is aimed at covering the shortage of the electric power market in the Southern zone of Kazakhstan.

In November 2022, a loan agreement was concluded between AlES, the owner of the station, and the EBRD on financing the project. In general, financial support for the project will be provided by international and Kazakhstani financial structures, which, in addition to the EBRD, include the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Development Bank of Kazakhstan JSC (DBK). The signing of the relevant documents with ADB and DBK is planned in June 2023. Financing is carried out under corporate guarantees of the Samruk-Kazyna Fund, which, according to experts, contributes to minimizing risks and improving credit conditions.