L&T wins ‘mega’ orders to build power grid in Middle East

Larsen & Toubro on Tuesday said its Power Transmission & Distribution (PT&D) vertical has won new orders in the Middle East for expanding and strengthening the electricity grids at high voltage levels. A project valued between ₹10,000 crore and ₹15,000 crore is classified as a mega project by L&T.

The different operating regions in Saudi Arabia’s national electricity network are being interconnected through High Voltage Direct Current links that enable exchange of power between regions and enhanced system resilience, the company says in a stock exchange filing. L&T has secured orders to establish 500kV transmission links associated with these interconnections, the filing says.

L&T has also won orders for three more packages involving two 380kV overhead transmission lines and a bulk supply 380kV Gas Insulated Substation. These elements contribute significantly to the renewable generation interconnection and fortification of the grid.

In Abu Dhabi, L&T has received an order to build two major 400kV Gas Insulated Substations. In addition to civil works, the scope also involves Series Current Limiting Reactors, Auto Transformers, related control, protection, substation monitoring & alarm systems including fault and power quality monitoring, telecommunication systems and integration with the Load Dispatch Centre. These substations will enhance the power transfer capacity of the electricity grid.

Earlier in September, Larsen & Toubro carved out a separate business vertical for renewable engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) out of its power transmission & distribution business, within its infrastructure projects segment. “The growth of renewable EPC business has accelerated in recent years. Thanks to our early start and investments, we have built an organisation that is uniquely placed in the value chain of creating sustainable energy infrastructure. This space is promising. Multiple opportunities are visible… Creation of this vertical will give increased autonomy, customer proximity and leadership oversight to the business and enable us to excel in this space,” S.N. Subrahmanyan, chairman and managing director, Larsen & Toubro, said at the time.

To enhance management visibility, L&T has created the renewable EPC business, an addition to its construction verticals. A. Ravindran, senior vice president, Larsen & Toubro, has been appointed as the head of Renewable Business.

In Saudi Arabia, L&T is a key player involved in major projects including the 700 MW Ar Rass Solar PV IPP, the 2,000 MW Ar Rass-2 Solar PV IPP, and the 1.6 GW Sudair solar plant. Recently it announced orders for another two plants with an aggregate capacity of 3.5GW. It is building the power and grid systems for one of the world’s largest green hydrogen plants at NEOM. Additionally, L&T is advancing renewable infrastructure with a 250 MWp solar PV plant in the Amaala Project and has completed a large-scale solar installation in Jeddah. L&T is executing Phase 6 of the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park in Dubai, UAE. The Middle East region is ideal for solar generation due to high solar irradiance, abundant land availability, alignment of solar generation with peak cooling demand and freeing up of fossil fuel for exports, the company says.