WCA March 2019

Industry news

Island proposal in Bahrain

A BAHRAIN project is calling for a submarine power cable to connect the mainland to the Hawar Islands, an archipelago of desert islands situated off the west coast of Qatar in the Gulf of Bahrain. The 25km power cable will run from Al Bar, the southernmost tip on the island of Bahrain, to north-western Hawar. The goal is a permanent electricity grid for Hawar, rather than relying on temporary power generators as it does at present. A statement from Khalid bin Abdullah Al Khalifa, a Bahraini deputy prime minister

❍ Hawar Islands, situated off the west coast of Qatar. Photograph courtesy of Gulf-insider.com

who heads the ministerial committee for reconstruction and infrastructure work, said the project is scheduled to begin in the first half of 2019 and be completed in the last quarter of 2020. The electricity and water authority has submitted a proposal for the cable route. Bahrain said it plans to develop sections of Hawar Island, in line with Bahrain’s national economic strategy for 2030. The electricity supply needs to be upgraded in order to sustain the development and to meet increasing demand. The project is funded by the Saudi Fund for Development. Bahrain Government – Bahrain Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (Dewa) has awarded contracts, worth a total $19 million, to several companies to supply 838km of low-voltage power cables. The contracts include the supply of cables across different regions in Dubai, to keep pace with the continued growth in demand for electricity. “We are moving ahead with our vital development projects, particularly in infrastructure, and these projects will be applied to various projects at Dewa, contributing to the increase in capacity, efficiency, and reliability of the electricity distribution network. This will ensure a continuous and stable supply of electricity to Dewa’s customers,” said Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, managing director and CEO of Dewa. It is expected that the manufacture and supply of the cables will be completed by September 2019. Dewa – Dubai Website : www.dewa.gov.ae Website : www.bahrain.bh Meeting demand

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Wire & Cable ASIA – March/April 2019