Wärtsilä to operate and maintain power plant in Syria

Wärtsilä Corporation, Trade press release 19 November 2010 at 12:00 UTC+2

Wärtsilä, a leading global supplier of flexible power plants and services to the decentralized power generation market, has been awarded an Operations and Maintenance (O&M) contract by the Al Badia Cement JSC for its captive power plant. The plant is located within the company’s cement factory grounds in the Abu Al Shamat area, in Syria. The contract is valid for three years.

The power plant will be the sole source of electrical supply to this new cement works facility, and is currently in the process of being commissioned for operation. It is powered by five Wärtsilä 20V32 and one Wärtsilä 9L32 generating sets, and produces a total output of more than 45 MW. The plant is also fitted with exhaust gas fired boilers for its auxiliary heating system.

Under the terms of the agreement, Wärtsilä will take responsibility for operating and maintaining the power plant so that it runs cost-effectively and with optimal efficiency. In this way the customer is able to focus entirely on the company’s core business of producing 1.60 million tons of cement annually in the first line.

Wärtsilä will employ about 20 local people and provide them with professional training. A local branch office is shortly to be registered to support these operations.

In announcing the award of this agreement, Mr Khaled Al Sawaf, CEO of Al Badia Cement JSC commented:

“The benefits for us in having Wärtsilä run this power plant are significant. Most notably it ensures that the quality of service will be high, and the fact that the costs are fixed makes budgeting that much easier. Wärtsilä has given us performance guarantees that will ensure that the power plant will be efficiently managed. Furthermore, through operating at optimal efficiency, exhaust emissions and the overall environmental impact will be minimized. In evaluating the proposal, we visited another site where Wärtsilä has an O&M agreement in place, and were able to see the competitive competencies that Wärtsilä has in this field.”

Wärtsilä O&M agreements are tailored to the needs of its customers. The O&M agreement programme is designed to cover all aspects of operating and managing an installation, including O&M planning, day-to-day operations, scheduled and unscheduled maintenance, the procurement of spare parts and consumables, administration, human resources and training, technical support, and logistics management. With this comprehensive programme, Wärtsilä is able to ensure optimal plant performance throughout the complete operational cycle, from receiving fuel to supplying energy.

For further information, please contact:

Loganathan Venkatachalapathi   
Area General Manager, Contract Support,
Wärtsilä L.L.C,
Dubai, U.A.E
Direct  phone No +971 4 814 9953
Mobile  phone No +971 50 6543 024
E-mail  l.venkatachalapathi@wartsila.com

Media contacts:
Ms Marit Holmlund-Sund
Senior Manager, PR and Marketing Communications
Wärtsilä Corporation
Direct tel: +358 10 709 1439
Direct fax: +358 10 709 1425
e-mail: marit.holmlund-sund@wartsila.com
Internet: www.wartsila.com

Wärtsilä in brief

Wärtsilä is a global leader in complete lifecycle power solutions for the marine and energy markets. By emphasising technological innovation and total efficiency, Wärtsilä maximizes the environmental and economic performance of the vessels and power plants of its customers. In 2009, Wärtsilä’s net sales totalled EUR 5.3 billion with more than 18,000 employees. The company has operations in 160 locations in 70 countries around the world. Wärtsilä is listed on the NASDAQ OMX Helsinki, Finland.
www.wartsila.com