French energy giant agrees to build Mongolia thermal plant

ULAN BATOR: French energy giant GDF Suez on Friday signed an agreement with private Mongolian firm Newcom to build a thermal power plant in the fast-developing country, which still suffers from blackouts.

This will be the fifth such plant in the resource-rich but still impoverished nation, which has huge needs for electricity and endures freezing winters.

The agreement was announced by Newcom and GDF Suez executives as French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius paid a visit to Mongolia, accompanied by a delegation of business leaders. It has yet to materialise into a firm deal.

"Mongolia, which is growing at huge speed, still has blackouts at times. There are huge needs for electricity," said Denis Simonneau, a GDF Suez executive.

"This plant will also distribute heat in the buildings of Ulan Bator", the capital city with a population of 1.5 million.

The agreement between GDF Suez and Newcom also includes two other companies -- Japan's Sojitz and South Korea's Posco Energy.

GDF Suez also wants to develop solar parks and wind farms with Newcom in the coming months.

The group's subsidiary Suez Environnement has already built water treatment plants in Ulan Bator.

- AFP/jl

Comments

Popular posts from this blog