POSCO Engineering and Construction Co. (POSCO E&C) kicked off the construction of the Colon Multi-Thermal Power Plant Project in the Telfers Industrial Complex in Colon Province, Panama, in a ceremony on April 27 at the complex. A slew of dignitaries attended, led by President Juan Carlos Varela; Chairman Andres Ricardo Glukis of AES Panama Co.; and President Han Chan-keun of POSCO Construction, among some 400 attendants, the company said.
The Telfers complex is located some 60 km from Panama City, on the Atlantic side of the Panama Canal and the project calls for the construction of LNG thermal power plants and LNG storage tanks with 180,000 cubic-meter capacities at a total cost of $650 million. The project is scheduled to be completed in July 2018 for the thermal power plant and in May, 2019 for LNG storage tanks, the company said.
President Juan Carlos Varela, in his congratulatory speech, said the need for power in Panama has been increasing every year and the successful construction of the Colon power plant would be a great contribution to the Panamanian economy.
In his congratulatory speech, President Han said the Telfers Power Plant Project is the symbol of POSCO E&C’s trust, which the company gained from various project owners in Latin America in its operation there for the past 10 years.
Power produced from the Colon combined cycle power plant can be supplied to around 15 million households simultaneously, which will ensure a stable supply to the industrial complex near the Panama Canal and Colon area.
POSCO E&C has been highly praised for the proven quality of power plant construction technology in Latin America over the past decade and was awarded the contract after a fierce competition against prominent engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) companies.
Oh Kun-soo, Senior Executive Vice President of POSCO E&C, said, "POSCO E&C was consecutively awarded two projects since December 2015 [by AES], in the Philippines and Chile. These awards have helped POSCO E&C to increase its competitiveness in overseas power plant markets."
In 2006, POSCO E&C became the first Korean construction company to construct a power plant in Latin America with the AES Ventanas coal-fired power plant in Chile and the subsequent Campiche and Angamos projects in 2007. Moreover, the Kallpa and Chilca Uno combined cycle power plants in Peru were successfully executed in 2009, achieving total value for POSCO E&C of $ 5.6 billion in Latin America over 10 years.
The power demand in the Central American nation, has been growing six percent annually and the country would need 1,200 Mw of additional power in the next 10 years at the current rate of power need increase rate.
President Juan Carlos Varela, in his congratulatory speech, said the need for power in Panama has been increasing every year and the successful construction of the Colon power plant would be a great contribution to the Panamanian economy.
The AES Corporation generates and distributes electrical power equivalent to around 36 GW in 17 countries.
Panama wants to position itself as an energy hub for Central America and the Caribbean. Several competing LNG-import terminals have been proposed, on Telfers Island in the Caribbean Sea, at Panama Colon Container Port and at Puerto Pilon in Colon. The Panama Canal Authority (ACP) has just started to review submissions for its own request for proposals to build an LNG terminal to support local power generation. The ACP project has secured a US grant and that still making progress.
“This terminal will focus on the use of LNG as a fuel source for electrical power generation for the Panamanian market, a redistribution point for a future small-scale LNG plant in the region and an LNG-bunkering facility as an alternative fuel for vessels transiting the Panama Canal,” an ACP source said.
The canal was effectively off limits to LNG carriers, due to its restricted size. However, the enlarged waterway will be able to accommodate ships that are 366m long, 49m wide and with a draft of 15m.
_포스코 파나마 착공식 시삽사진.jpg)
