Foreign titans vie to land gas project
( 2002-07-19 09:20 ) (1 )

Four foreign equipment giants have been named finalists in a competition to supply power-generating equipment for 10 Chinese power plants from Northwest to East China.

Natural gas will be used as the energy source. The natural gas will be transported from Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region and pumped out from inshore gas fields.

The finalists are: America-based General Electric (GE); France's Alstom; Germany's Siemens; and Japan's Mitsubishi.

A decision will be made by early next year.

The finalists got this far in the bidding process by passing previous qualification assessments by the project organizers.

By 2006, all 23 generating units at the 10 plants will be able to produce power, bidding organizers said Thursday.

"This energy project is mammoth and revolutionary," said Jiang Xinsheng, president of China National Technical Import and Export Corporation.

Jiang's company and Guoxin Tendering Corporation Ltd, a national agency that provides services for China's key infrastructure projects, jointly organized the bidding.

Jiang did not say how much investment will be involved in the bidding project.

"The bid invitation signals that we have made a significant step forward in restructuring China's power structure," he said.

Officials with the State Development Planning Commission (SDPC) said the project is an essential part of China's west-to-east gas transportation project.

"Massive use of natural gas in power generation will be encouraged, and more gas-fired plants have already been planned," said Liu Tienan, SDPC's director of the Industrial Development Department.

"But we should pay attention to cost control because natural gas is more expensive than coal and water, which are the main power resources at present," said Liu, whose commission is the highest authority for economic and major national infrastructure project planning.

Liu said public bidding for foreign giants is aimed at lowering construction and operation costs of the planned plants, which are mainly based in Beijing and coastal regions.

"We hope they can hand down well-rounded techniques and equipment to us," Liu said.

Earlier this month, China started the US$8.9 billion pipeline project to transport gas from Tarim Basin in Northwest China's Xinjiang through eight provinces and regions to Shanghai in East China.