Electrogas, the preferred bidder for the construction of a new gas-fired power station, will be investing some €370 million in the project.

The announcement was made by Gasol Plc, one of the partners in the chosen consortium.

Gasol said the project involves a floating storage unit, which will be docked permanently at Delimara, and the regasification of an initial 55/60 million standard cubic feet of gas per day for LNG deliveries to Malta.

LNG will be supplied to Enemalta’s existing 149 MW power facility, better known as the BWSC plant, and also to a new 200 MW gas-fired power plant, to be built, owned and operated by Electrogas.

The LNG ship will be provided by SOCAR Trading SA – another partner in the consortium – on the basis of a long term (18-year charter), with the state oil trading company of Azerbaijan having the exclusive right to supply LNG for the project.

Otherwise we could not have made a binding bid as requested in terms of the tender

According to Gasol, Electrogas will enter into various agreements with Enemalta including for the acquisition of a special purpose vehicle, at a cost of €30 million, with all the necessary permits.

Meanwhile, a spokesman for GEM Holdings Ltd – a joint venture between the Gasan and Tumas groups and the only Maltese partners in the consortium – said they did not know they had won the bid before its actual announcement.

Asked by Times of Malta to clarify a statement made by GEM Ceo Yorgen Fenech on the day of the announcement, that “a specialised storage ship had already been contracted,” for the project, a company spokesman explained that this was one of the requirements of the tender.

“With the ship owners (and many other contractors for this bid) we had to enter into agreements with firm pricing and commitment which would of course only become valid if we would eventually be awarded the contract,” the spokesman said.

“Otherwise we could not have made and submitted a binding bid as requested in terms of the tender.”