The French energy firm has also bagged deals in India and begun expanding capacity in China.
AREVA T&D has won two turnkey grid reinforcement contracts totalling € 86 million (US $127 million) in the UAE.
The Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) has placed an order for two 132/11 kV indoor gas-insulated substations. The units are scheduled to be commissioned in April 2009.
The second contract is with Nakheel, the developer of Palm Deira, a man-made island project in Dubai. Under the deal, the AREVA group subsidiary will supply three 132/22 kV gas-insulated substations to be installed at different locations on the island. The order forms part of the first phase of Palm Deira’s power distribution network development plan.
“The transmission and distribution market in the Middle East is one of the most dynamic worldwide, along with Asia. With large-scale utility customers such as DEWA backing our offer, AREVA has reinforced its resources in the region and is strongly positioned to grasp additional growth opportunities,” said Alhan Fares, AREVA T&D regional vice president for the Middle East.
Elsewhere, AREVA T&D has been awarded contracts worth more than € 40 million by Indian utility firms, NTPC and Powergrid Corporation of India. Under the NTPC order, AREVA will design and supply a € 23 million power transformers package for the 1 500 MW Indira Gandhi thermal power project, under construction in Jhajjar, in the state of Haryana.
The Powergrid deal is for an upgrade of the sub-transmission systems in the state of Bihar, which includes extending the existing substations and building additional 33 kV bays. The total contract value is € 18 million.
Meanwhile, in China, AREVA T&D has broken ground on a new € 60 million power transformers plant in Wuhan, Hubei Province. Commercial production is scheduled for 2009.
The facility will produce a full range of power transformers from 110 kV to ultra-high voltage, with an initial production capacity of 20 000 MVA per year. The company already operates a transformers manufacturing plant in the Shanghai area, and last year, it started up a new gas-insulated switchgear factory in Suzhou.
China is the world’s third largest power transmission and distribution market, accounting for 25% of the global market share, according to AREVA T&D. The firm is also looking to expand its share of China’s disconnectors market, by signing three separate joint-venture agreements with local firms, with a total infrastructure investment of € 13 million.
