The Emir (ruler) of Qatar, His Highness Shaikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani inaugurated the Ras Laffan Power plant on November 29 in an official opening ceremony.
The US$ 714-million power and water desalination plant, purpose-built at Ras Laffan Industrial City, about 80 km north of Doha, has a design capacity of 750 megawatts of electricity generation and 160 million litres per day of water production.
The project promoter, Ras Laffan Power Company (RLPC), concluded a 25-year agreement to supply electricity and water to the Qatar General Electricity and Water Corporation (Kahramaa), which are the sole providers of these utilities to consumers through nationwide networks.
Five desalination plants operate in Qatar; however consumption still continues to rise, and more water will have to be produced to keep up with demand. Likewise, additional electricity generation capacity will be required to offset the increasing demand in Qatar, estimated to be growing at a rate of 5.5% per year.
