Siemens wins T&D contract for Saudi Arabian mega-city

One of the largest developments in the region, KAEC is being built on a 173-square-kilometer site on the Red Sea coast. The total project covers six zones including a seaport, industrial zone, central business district, educational zone, resort district and residential communities. Work on the seaport and infrastructure for the residential communities is now underway.

Siemens' $148 million contract will cover setting up electrical substations and transmission infrastructure across the industrial zone, resort area and the Bay La Sun Village, which is the first integrated residential community in KAEC.

The work, to be completed by 2010 includes design supply, installation, testing and commissioning of up to three substations and related facilities to ensure seamless power connectivity across the project. Siemens will also undertake the design, supply installation, testing and commissioning for 110-kilovolt cable connections from the industrial zone substation to Resort Cove substation, and from Resort Cove substation to Bay La Sun Village substation.

Building the power transmission and distribution backbone for the KAEC should put Siemens in a good position for forthcoming power-based technological and engineering project contracts. The industrial zone will cover 63 million square meters and will be home to light industries, development industries and service industries. It will also be the site of a "plastics valley," fed from the country's hydrocarbon resources that will produce high quality, high added-value components for the auto, biomedical, construction and food packaging industries.

Emaar The Economic City is a joint venture formed from Dubai's Emaar Properties PJSC, one of the world's largest real estate companies, and Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority, which is in charge of the project. With the first phase scheduled to be operational in 2010, completion of the whole project is targeted for 2020.