OREANDA-NEWS. Sojitz Corp. said that its international consortium including French energy group GDF Suez SA has launched two power plants in Oman that account for nearly 25% of the country's total generating capacity.

The plants, located in Sohar and Barka, operate as independent power providers (IPPs), producing electricity with gas turbine combined-cycle facilities. They offer a combined generating capacity of 1.48 million kilowatts, the largest in Oman. Electricity generated by the plants will be sold to a local power and water procurement company for 15 years.

The Japanese trading house and other consortium member Shikoku Electric Power Co. (9507) are each believed to have invested around 4 billion yen. This marks the first foray into the IPP business in Oman by Japanese companies, and it comes after Sojitz launched a similar project in Saudi Arabia earlier this month.

Oman's peak power demand in summer reaches 4.5 million kilowatts.