Construction work on K375mil gas power station hits halfway mark

Construction of the K375 million kina gas-fired power station outside Port Moresby is 50 per cent complete, says NiuPower chief executive Richard Robinson.
The power station was launched last December by Minister for Public Enterprises and State Investment William Duma.
The project is being constructed by NiuPower Ltd, a joint-venture company owned by Oil Search Ltd and Kumul Petroleum Holdings Ltd as an independent power producer.
NiuPower will sell electricity to PNG Power Ltd under a power-purchase agreement.
Robinson said six generators arrived in Port Moresby from Finland last month and and work on the foundations of the first generator started yesterday.
The rest will be installed in sequence.
“The power station is using six Wartsila gas engine-generator sets,” Robinson said.
“Each unit has a capacity of 9.794 megawatts, giving a total power station capacity of 57.868MW.
“Whilst work continues on many fronts, the installation of major equipment is the major focus at the moment. Project development is now over 50 per cent complete.
“We remain on track to be ready to deliver highly cost-effective and reliable power to the people of Port Moresby in early 2019.”
Robinson said more than 250 people were working on site.
A double-circuit 66-kilovolt transmission line from the power plant to a new Gerehu sub-station will be constructed by PPL. It will transfer power generated by the gas power plant into the Port Moresby grid.
A PPL spokesperson said work on the transmission line had not started.