ESB International wins €30m contract in Turkey, reaches milestone in Tanzania energy project

11 Apr 2013

(From left) Rmzi Gur, chairman of DEIK; Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs, Eamonn Gilmore, TD, Sedar Bilgic, head of Energy Generation Group, Unit Investment NVM; and John Sweeney, head of Innovation, ESBI

Global engineering consultancy ESB International (ESBI) has won its first contract in Turkey and has finished a major portion of the energy project it’s managing in Tanzania, with the official switching on of a new 132kV submarine interconnector from Tanzania to Zanzibar Island.

Details of the contract in Turkey have been announced in Istanbul during an Enterprise Ireland trade mission to the country, which wrapped up today.

ESBI is undertaking the  €30m, six-year contract with investment company UNIT to operate and maintain the Yeni Elektrik Power Station, located south-west of Istanbul. ESBI will also provide technical and engineering support to the plant.

ESBI and UNIT have formed a 50/50 joint venture company known as UNES to manage the contract for the plant, which will generate electricity as a merchant plant into the Turkish market.

“We are delighted to be able to announce these projects, which we believe will impact positively on people’s lives in both Tanzania and Turkey,” said John McSweeney, head of Innovation at ESB International.

“The Turkish power plant is capable of generating up to 3pc of electricity consumption in Turkey and the expansion of the electricity infrastructure in Tanzania will transform people’s lives and offer new generations a bright future as it did in Ireland in the 1950s.

“We reached a major milestone today with the official switching in of the new 132kV interconnector from Tanzania to Zanzibar Island, which will more than double the transmission capacity currently available,” McSweeney added.

Tina Costanza was a journalist and sub-editor at Silicon Republic

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