Siemens Wins AED600 Million Contract from TRANSCO to Build High Voltage Substation on Saadiyat Island
Siemens has signed an AED600 million turnkey contract with TRANSCO (Abu Dhabi Transmission and Despatch Company) to build a 400kV high voltage substation on Saadiyat Island in Abu Dhabi.
The contract was signed by David Copestake, Managing Director, TRANSCO and Peter Fuchs, Chief Executive Officer, Siemens LLC. Also attending the signing ceremony was Her Excellency Angela Merkel, the German Chancellor and Her Highness Sheikha Lubna Al Qassimi, UAE's Minister for Economy.
The substation will provide the electrical supply for the Saadiyat Island development. Work on executing the project started at the end of December 2006, with the energisation of the project expected to be completed in 2008.
Saadiyat Island is a natural island measuring 27 square kilometres and located 500 meters off mainland Abu Dhabi. The island will be transformed into a tourism destination in three phases, with the final completion date set for 2018. By then, Saadiyat will house around 150,000 residents in 8,000 private houses, 38,000 apartments and 29 hotels offering over 7,000 rooms.
The total development on the island will be spread over six districts and is a cornerstone to Abu Dhabi's plans to develop tourism in the Emirate. Abu Dhabi currently sees almost one million tourists annually and expects to boost the number to three million by 2015.
The island's infrastructure alone will cost an estimated AED5.5 billion (USD1.5 billion). The substation will be the first of these projects and poses some unique challenges. "One of our initial issues to solve will be the logistics of moving very large equipment to the island," said Peter Fuchs, CEO of Siemens LLC. "Saadiyat Island is a remarkable project, both for its scope and the nature of the development itself. We are very excited to be part of bringing this vision to reality."
The Siemens Power Transmission and Distribution Group (PTD), headquartered in Erlangen, Germany, is one of the leading global players in its market sector. As a product supplier, system integrator, solution designer and service provider, Siemens PTD ensures - for utilities and industry alike - the efficient and reliable transmission of electrical energy from the power plant to the consumer. With a worldwide workforce of about 27,500 and operations in more than 100 countries, PTD had sales of 6.5 billion euros in fiscal 2006.
Further information at: siemens.com/ptd.
