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Qatar Electricity and Water Company signs deal with Q-Post to boost materials supply
QNA
DOHA
LAND has been allocated for the solar power project in Al Kharsaah, which is set to produce 500 to 1,000 megawatt (MW) of electricity, Qatar Electricity and Water Company (QEWC) said.
The first phase of the project will cost around $500 million for producing 500 MW of electricity, QEWC General Manager and Managing Director, Fahad Hamad al Mohannadi said on Monday. Speaking after signing of an agreement between QEWC and Q-Post, Mohannadi said investor companies - both local and international - for the solar power project will be named soon.
The project, which is to be completed on time, is expected to produce 500 MW by mid-2020, he added.
On Umm Al Houl power plant project, which is due to be ready in 2018, Mohannadi said more than 92 percent of the work is complete.
He said the project would produce 2,500 MW of electricity, and 130 million gallons of water and will provide 25 percent of the country's needs in this sector. This will make one of the biggest projects in the region with a total cost of $3 billion.
QEWC's recently announced Facility E project, also known as Ras Rakan, will provide 2,000 to 2,500 MW of electricity and 100 million gallons of water at a cost of $3 billion, which is nearly the same as Umm Al Houl.
Qatar is self-reliant for the fuel or chemicals required to produce electricity and water, because the sector is fully independent and the country depends on its own resources, Mohannadi noted.
Speaking on signing of contract with Q-Post Chairman and Managing Director Faleh Mohammed Al Nuaimi, Mohannadi said the deal would boost supply of important materials required urgently for QEWC.
"Any company has a control system that classifies materials into long-term, medium-sized and small-sized materials that are constantly purchased," he said.
Each of these classification, he said, requires services, adding Q-Post will greatly assist QEWC in express delivery of materials as purchases are now done online. The delivery requires a regulatory role,
which Q-Post will assume.
"QEWC has six companies operating in Ras Laffan, Mesaieed, Umm Al Houl, Ras Abu Funtas and Dukhan and they need materials delivered to their locations and some suppliers don't know the locations or the names of companies and they insist on delivering at a specific location where companies can then go to collect their shipments.
"Q-Post will find a mechanism using electronic communication that helps in following up on the locations to which the materials are delivered," Mohannadi explained.
"This would help in reducing the need for storage, thereby avoiding expiry of materials and help companies save money. It will also drive down the cost of insurance on inflammable materials," he added.
The new system may eventually cancel the storage system completely and introduce an electronic system that provides materials through global suppliers, making the global market act as warehouses, he pointed out, noting that Q-Post will play a major role in this process.
Nuaimi said the services that Q-Post will provide for QEWC will help in facilitate and accelerate the process of shipment delivery and will enhance the importance of achieving integration among national companies. This would promote the Qatari economy and serve the goals of Qatar National Vision 2030.
He added that Q-Post will provide shipping and supply services for QEWC to lower the costs by obtaining prices that make it possible to offer the services easily and at competitive rate.
