POWER July 2021 - 17

PLANT OF THE YEAR AWARD
As laudable is that the project was a
marvel of collaboration between some
of the world's biggest firms, including
the intercontinental partnership that built
it, which comprised U.S.-based technology
conglomerate GE and Taiwanese
engineering, procurement, and construction
(EPC) services giant CTCI Corp.
These aspects are more remarkable
considering that the team, forced to
partially manage crucial project phases
remotely, kept all the workers safe. As
the project owner's engineer AFRY Malaysia
Sdn Bhd underscored, though the
pandemic jolted its schedule, the project
began successful commercial operation
in February 2021, following a chaotic 39
months for Unit 1 and 40 months for Unit
2. That's a total of 10 million man-hours-
with zero lost-time injuries.
Borne Out of Crisis
The award-winning project's story
began in 2014, when Malaysia's Energy
Commission (EC) awarded SIPP
Energy, a private vehicle, a fast-track
project tender- " Track 4A " -to build,
by 2018, two 720-MW combined cycle
gas turbine (CCGT) power plants in Pasir
Gudang through its special purpose
vehicle Southern Power Generation
(SPG). At the time, Peninsular Malaysia
was grappling with power disruptions,
forcing Tenaga Nasional Berhad
(TNB), Malaysia's largest electrical
utility and a private company that is
wholly owned by the government, to
repeatedly import power from Thailand
and Singapore to stabilize the grid. The
EC deemed Track 4A essential for Pasir
Gudang, a mangrove-fringed city in the
southernmost reach of mainland Asia
in Peninsular Malaysia's state of Johor,
which has long shouldered the region's
industrial activity. Strategically located
just across the narrow Johor strait from
Singapore, the city functions as an important
international port and services
hub in Asia, bolstered by its palm oil,
petrochemical, and IT industries.
TNB at first withdrew but then returned
to the project in 2017 with the
acquisition of a 51% share in SPG, citing
approval from the EC, as well as
expected " earnings accretive to TNB "
upon Track 4A's scheduled commercial
operation date. TNB, notably, raised
its share in SPG to 70% in September
2020.
As Rizal Nordin, managing director
at SPG, told POWER in June, Track 4A's
commercial operation increased Peninsular
Malaysia's generating capacity to
July 2021 | POWER
25,962 MW. But it also helps the nation
meet its climate ambitions, he said. In
2017, as project development ramped
up, the country was working out its
now-official nationally determined contribution
(NDC) to the Paris Agreement
to reduce the intensity of its carbon
emissions by 45% compared to 2005
levels by 2030. The country has also
set a 20% renewable target by 2025.
However, the EC suggests 11.6 GW
of plant retirements, mostly coal-fired
plants, are expected by 2029, which
means Peninsular Malaysia will need
at least 9.3 GW of new power capacity
by the end of 2030 to meet demand
growth and maintain system reliability.
Today, both Track 4A plants are fully
operated and maintained by REMACO,
a subsidiary of TNB Power Generation
that develops, operates, and maintains
the latter's portfolio of power generating
units. Owner SPG supplies power
to TNB through a 21-year power purchase
agreement (PPA).
According to SPG, the option to build
gas-fired generation was also bolstered
by TNB's long-term gas supply framework
with Malaysia's state-owned oil
and gas firm Petronas. Meanwhile,
TNB had also previously worked with
GE on other plants. Another crucial
decisive factor related to shaping the
project-including choosing its technology
and key contractors (Figure
1)-was rooted in a vision to operate
an efficient and reliable plant through
the next 20 years, said Norlida Binti A.
Manaf, corporate and business support
director at SPG.
" GE was pretty advanced in terms of
this technology as compared with other
providers, " while SPG was determined
to secure state-of-the-art technology.
That's why developers went with the
first-of-its-kind
9HA.02
technology,
she explained. " Some people may say
that's a big risk, " but SPG chose " the
best in the market, " both to provide
the necessary flexibility required in
the present market as well as accommodate
dramatic shifts forecast for the
global power landscape, she said.
An Award-Worthy Collaboration
Another significant factor that likely
boosted GE's prospects is that the U.S.
company bid for the EPC contract as part
of a strategic consortium with Taiwanese
EPC service provider CTCI. As Anthony
Hsu, project manager at CTCI Corp. explained
to POWER, the two companies'
synergies had already been proven.
www.powermag.com
POWER POINTS
Winning Attributes
✔ Track 4A is equipped with the
first commercial GE 9HA.02 gas
turbines-one of the world's largest
and most efficient power-generating
models.
✔ The landmark $1.1 billion project
showcases an array of first-of-itskind
equipment and technology.
✔ The project team reportedly
completed a total of 10 million manhours
of work with zero lost-time
injuries.
✔ Malaysia's Energy Commission
awarded a fast-track project tender
for Track 4A to help Peninsular
Malaysia overcome regular power
disruptions.
✔ The project team overcame
significant obstacles to commission
Track 4A during the global COVID-19
pandemic.
" CTCI and GE have worked closely on
several power plant projects in the AsiaPacific
region. We built an extensive track
record of delivering and commissioning
leading projects, including nuclear, thermal,
cogeneration, and combined cycle
power
plants, " Hsu said. " Combining
our strengths in project management,
engineering, and construction management
with GE's cutting-edge machines,
we have established a competitive EPC
partnership. "
Under the EPC contract, for which
the companies received a notice to proceed
in October 2017, CTCI spearheaded
project management, engineering, and
procurement of balance of plant (BOP);
overall construction management; and
BOP commissioning works, Hsu said.
AFRY Malaysia, a company that was
formerly known as Pöyry Energy, meanwhile,
served as the owner's engineer,
undertaking " project management and
all duties and responsibilities expected
from an experienced and skilled consultant
for the EPC works, " the company
told POWER. It also conducted the detailed
engineering review, construction
supervision, and commissioning
assistance for the plant and interconnecting
facility to meet contractual requirements
for SPG's role in the EPC
contract and PPA.
17
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POWER July 2021

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