ACWA Kirikkale

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The project is a greenfield natural gas fired combined cycle gas turbine (CCGT) power plant with an installed capacity up to about 928 MW (net generating capacity after deducting auxiliary electricity consumption), including an associated 119 km 380 kV transmission line, with an estimated project cost of about USD 1 billion. IFC’s proposed investment is an A Loan of up to USD125 million and a B Loan of up to USD75 million. EBRD is considering to co-finance this project.The power plant will be located 50 km east of Ankara, near the city of Kirikkale, Turkey. The project is sponsored by International Company for Water and Power Projects (“ACWA Power”) and will be developed by Acwa Guc Elektrik Isletme ve Yonetim Sanayi ve Ticaret Anonim Sirketi (“ACWA Guc” or “the company”), which is currently owned 99% by ACWA Power. Natural gas will be supplied from the existing Samsun-Ankara natural gas pipeline owned by BOTAS Petroleum Pipeline Corporation which passes through at 3 to 4 km distance from the project site. The company selected a closed wet cooling system to limit water usage. Water will be extracted from 4 to 5 caisson wells to be established at the river bed of Kizilirmak River, which is located about 200 m from the project site. The electricity generating efficiency of the plant will be 59 % (net, LHV basis) or 60% (gross, LHV basis), and as such the plant will be one of the most energy efficient power plants in Turkey. The power plant will be developed on about 18.5 ha of land located within the boundaries of Kiliclar Municipality of Yahsihan District in Kirikkale Province. Around 2.6 ha of this land and 2.5 ha of additional land required for the caisson wells are privately owned while the rest is owned by the Treasury of the Government of Turkey. This privately owned land is being acquired by the company. The remaining 15.9 ha owned by the Treasury will be leased to the company. The site is a natural meadow and is not presently used for any purposes. The routing of the associated transmission line has been determined by TEIAS (Turkish Electricity Transmission Company) to avoid urban or ecologically sensitive areas and minimize social and environmental impacts. The line will be developed from ACWA Kirikkale plant site to the existing Baglum Substation in Ankara. About 3km of existing rural road from the national Ankara-Kirikkale highway to the project site will be used as an access road. This existing road will be upgraded to allow transportation of heavy equipment. The company plans to sign the Engineering, Procurement and Construction (“EPC”) agreement with Samsung C&T, and to start construction in late 2014. The construction period will be about 30 months, and the Generation License to be issued by Energy Market Regulatory Authority (EMRA) will allow the company to operate the plant for 49 years. The plant will be operated by ACWA Power’s subsidiary company called NOMAC, an Operation and Maintenance (O&M) operator.