Wartsila to build 120 MW gas power plant in Gabon

Wartsila and Gabon Power Company (GPC) have signed a concession agreement with the government of Gabon for the development, supply, construction, operation and maintenance of a 120 MW gas-fuelled power plant, Wartsila said on September 23. GPC is a subsidiary of the Sovereign Fund of the Gabonese Republic dedicated to energy and water. 

Wartsila, jointly leading the project development with GPC, will build the plant under a full engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) contract and will then operate and maintain the plant under a long-term 15-year operation and maintenance (O&M) agreement. The EPC contract and the O&M agreement will be signed in 2022 with Orinko, the joint venture between Wartsila and GPC.

The plant will be located at the industrial site of Owendo, close to Libreville, the country’s capital. When commissioned, the plant will supply electricity to Societe d’Energie et d’Eau du Gabon, the Gabonese utility, under a 15-year power purchase agreement.

The project is being developed under a public-private partnership framework, with the asset to transfer to the Gabonese authorities at the end of the concession agreement. It has the full support of the government of Gabon, with the council of ministers approval received in May 2021, and the concession agreement having received approvals by the country’s president, prime minister, and the relevant ministries, Wartsila said.