Wärtsilä, a leading global supplier of flexible power plants and services to the decentralised power generation market, has been awarded an operations and maintenance (O&M) contract by Al Badia Cement for its captive power plant. The plant is located within the company’s cement factory grounds in the Abu Al Shamat area, in Syria, and is valid for three years.
The power plant will be the sole source of electrical supply to this new cement works facility, and is currently in the process of being commissioned for operation. It is powered by five Wärtsilä 20V32 and one Wärtsilä 9L32 generating sets, and produces a total output of more than 45MW. The plant is also fitted with exhaust gas fired boilers for its auxiliary heating system.
Under the terms of the agreement, Wärtsilä will take responsibility for operating and maintaining the power plant so that it runs cost-effectively and with optimal efficiency. In this way the customer is able to focus entirely on the company’s core business of producing 1.60 million tons of cement annually in the first line.
Wärtsilä will employ about 20 local people and provide them with professional training. A local branch office is shortly to be registered to support these operations.
In announcing the award of this agreement, Mr Khaled Al Sawaf, CEO of Al Badia Cement commented: “The benefits in having Wärtsilä run this power plant are significant for us. Most notably it ensures that the quality of service will be high, and the fact that the costs are fixed makes budgeting that much easier. Wärtsilä has given us performance guarantees that will ensure that the power plant will be efficiently managed.
“Furthermore, through operating at optimal efficiency, exhaust emissions and the overall environmental impact will be minimised. In evaluating the proposal, we visited another site where Wärtsilä has an O&M agreement in place, and were able to see the competitive competencies that Wärtsilä has in this field.”
Wärtsilä O&M agreements are tailored to the needs of its customers. The O&M agreement programme is designed to cover all aspects of operating and managing an installation, including O&M planning, day-to-day operations, scheduled and unscheduled maintenance, the procurement of spare parts and consumables, administration, human resources and training, technical support, and logistics management. With this comprehensive programme, Wärtsilä is able to ensure optimal plant performance throughout the complete operational cycle, from receiving fuel to supplying energy.