Qatar General Electricity & Water Corp. (Doha, Qatar) has awarded a Prysmian-led consortium a major contract for a power transmission system expansion project. The total value of the contract is around 168 million euros, of which Prysmian's portion is worth around 87 million euros.

The project, which also involves Nexans, requires the provision of engineering, procurement, construction, installation and commissioning services for high-voltage and extra-high-voltage underground power cables on various circuits for a total of 131 km (81 miles) of 220-kV and 77 km of 132-kV cable and associated accessories, as part of the power transmission system expansion (Phase VIII) project.

The installation of the first circuits is scheduled for completion in January 2010.

Qatar, situated on the Arabic Gulf with its abundant petroleum and natural gas reserves, posts double-digit growth rates and invests continuously in the country's infrastructure. This project is representing the new stage of Qatar's power transmission expansion to continue the reinforcement to the main transmission networks and to secure the power supply to industrial and domestic sectors.