The Tripoli West project is a 671MW simple-cycle power plant (SCPP) under construction in the Tripoli district of Libya.
State-owned General Electricity Company of Libya (GECOL) is the owner and developer of the project.
The main construction work on the project was started with the pouring of the first structural concrete in June 2021. Scheduled for commissioning by August 2022, the Tripoli West SCPP will help to meet Libya’s acute power generation deficit.
Power outages persisted in the North African country throughout 2020, with only 13 of its total 27 power plants functioning during the year due to inadequate fuel supply and poor maintenance of facilities.
Project Gallery
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Enka is the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contractor for the Tripoli West simple-cycle power project in Libya. Image courtesy of ENKA.
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General Electricity Company of Libya (GECOL) is the owner and developer of the 671MW Tripoli West simple-cycle power plant. Image courtesy of General Electricity Company of Libya.
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General Electricity Company of Libya (GECOL) is the owner and developer of the 671MW Tripoli West simple-cycle power plant. Image courtesy of Siemens.
GECOL signed a contract with a Turkish-German consortium comprising Enka and Siemens for the fast-track development of the Tripoli West facility to meet Libya’s urgent power requirements in December 2017.
The project, however, remained suspended for three years due to security reasons, as the country was marred by conflicting political and military factions.
Location and site details
The Tripoli West simple-cycle power project is located near the existing West Tripoli thermal power station, on the Mediterranean coast in north-western Libya, approximately 30km west of the country’s capital Tripoli.
Tripoli West simple-cycle power plant make-up
The Tripoli West simple-cycle facility will comprise a power island equipped with four sets of Siemens SGT5 PAC 2000E gas turbines and SGen5-100A air-cooled generators. Each unit will have a rated power of 187MW.
The turbines will operate on light distillate oil (LDO) as the primary fuel, while natural gas will be used as the secondary fuel. The electricity generated by the combustion turbine-generator units will be stepped up through main transformers before being fed to the grid.
The other mechanical and auxiliary systems of the plant will include fuel tanks, an air intake structure, an exhaust gas diffuser, air-cooled heat exchangers, and a compressor cleaning unit.
The plant will also be fitted with continuous emission monitoring system (CEMS) and distributed control system (DCS).
Power evacuation
The electricity generated by the Tripoli West simple-cycle power plant will be evacuated into the grids operated by GECOL.
Contractors involved in the Tripoli West power project
Enka, the biggest engineering and construction company in Turkey, is the turnkey engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contractor for the 671MW Tripoli West power project.
Enka’s scope of services includes the design, detailed engineering, construction, shipment of project materials, as well as the installation, pre-commissioning, commissioning, start-up, and performance testing of the plant.
Siemens is responsible for the manufacturing and supply of gas turbines and generators and also has a long-term service agreement (LTSA) for the Tripoli West power project.
Turkey-based Cimtas Pipe Fabrication and Trading is supplying longitudinal submerged arc-welding (LSAW) steel pipes, fittings, and pipe spools for the project.
Kortek Corrosion Technologies, which is also based in Turkey, was subcontracted by Enka for the supply of impressed current cathodic protection (ICCP) for the tank bottom, as well as the galvanic cathodic protection CP system for tank internal surfaces for the project.
Hidromontaza, an engineering and construction company based in Slovenia, was engaged in building the physical security infrastructure at the project site.
Dako Worldwide Transport, a freight forwarder based in Germany, in partnership with Wallmann & Co. and SAL Heavy Lift, is responsible for the transportation of equipment to the project site from Germany, China and Indonesia.
It loaded the first main shipment comprising two turbines and two generators from Germany in July 2021.
Optilan, a subsidiary of US-based technology company DarkPulse, was contracted by Enka for providing the security and communications systems for the Tripoli West simple-cycle power plant in August 2021.