China Leads Bidding for Poland's Ostroleka 'C' Coal-Fired Project

Written by Martin Lynch, European News Editor for Industrial Info (Galway, Ireland)--The latest coal-fired power project in Poland is moving forward as the bidding process has now closed with three bidders competing for the proposed 1,000 megawatt (MW) Ostroleka power plant.

The proposed $1.7 billion project is being developed by Poland's state-owned electricity utility Energa (Gdansk, Poland) with fellow Polish energy major Enea S.A. (WSE:ENA) (Poznan, Poland). The project will have an estimated efficiency rating of 45% or higher. In August, Industrial Info reported that the project had been revived after being shelved for five years due to financing problems. For additional information, see August 15, 2017, article - Poland Revives $1.7 Billion Coal-Fired Plant.

The lowest bidder was China Power Engineering Consulting Group Corporation (CPECC) (Beijing) which offered to construct the turnkey project for 4.85 billion zlotys ($1.38 billion). This was followed by a consortium of GE Power and Alstom S.A. (OTC:ALSMY) (Paris, France) with a price tag of 6.23 billion zlotys ($1.8 billion) and finally a group of Polish-owned companies, Polimex-Mostostal (Warsaw, Poland) and Rafako (Racibórz, Poland), with a significantly higher bid of 9.59 billion zlotys ($2.7 billion).

"The price is not the only criterion for the evaluation of offers in the proceedings, it is only one of its elements," said Energa management board member Edward Siurnicki.

Daniel Obajtek, president of the management board of Energa added: "We are pleased with the interest in building a new power plant, laid out in our strategy for the development of productive potential and ensuring energy security. The tender will be settled after the offers have been evaluated. We want to efficiently select the contractor and start the next stage leading to the implementation of the investment, together with our partner Enea, who has experience in the construction of these plants. The implementation of this very important project will allow for an effective replacement of spent power in the National Energy System, while fully respecting the natural environment."

A contractor will be chosen in the first quarter of 2018, when construction is expected to kick off. Commissioning is expected in 2023. Energa is also going ahead with the project without a power purchase deal in place with the Polish government although the project has the full support of Poland's Energy Minister Krzysztof Tchórzewski. After inviting bids for the project in 2016, he said: "We are modernising power plants, and new, efficient units are our priority. The tender announcement is for contractors in Europe. I am deeply satisfied that Poland will be able to develop based on energy from modern coal sources, such as the new unit in Ostroleka."

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