German power giant Siemens said on Tuesday it has won a $966m contract to supply key components for a major combined-cycle power plant in Saudi Arabia.  The power station is designed to deliver electricity to the Jazan Industrial city area in the southwest of the country and to the refinery of Jazan, which will additionally be supplied with process steam.

Jazan will be the largest gasification-based power plant site in the world with the contract worth $966.8m, Siemens said in a statement.  "This is not only the largest order to date for Siemens from Saudi Aramco, but also a significant milestone in our successful cooperation with the biggest oil company in the world," said Michael Suess, Siemens board member and CEO of the energy sector.

Siemens' scope of supply includes 10 gas turbines, of which six will be manufactured in Saudi Arabia, five steam turbines, 15 generators and 10 heat recovery steam generators.  Nabil Aldabal, managing director of Aramco Overseas Company, said: "This new, highly efficient combined cycle power plant is an important part of our major project in the new economic zone in Jazan, and for this we must have efficient and reliable technology. We are looking forward to working with Siemens on this strategic project."

Power demand is expected to rise by about six percent annually amid a population boom which is set to see numbers rise from 28 million today to 34 million in 2020.  To meet the predicted annual rise in power demand, the installed power generation capacity will have to at least double within 10 years from 67 gigawatts in 2012 to an estimated 140 gigawatts in 2020.

Siemens Saudi Arabia said it is investing in this growth market by constructing a facility in Dammam for the manufacturing of gas turbines and related equipment and for the servicing of this equipment in the country.