China and Jordan on Tuesday inked adeal on a power station expansion project, the first of its kind implemented by Chinese firms in Jordan's power generation sector and hailed by the Chinese ambassador in Jordan Gong Xiaosheng as aresult of bilateral cooperation.

The add-on cycle power plant contract, worth of multi-million U.S. dollars, was signed by China's Shandong Electric Power Construction Corp III Electric Power Construction Corp.(SEPCO III) and Samra Electric Power Generating Co. (SEPGCO).

Under the deal, the Chinese firm will help install a gas-powered generator unit with capacity of 100MW, with which the total capacity of Samra's phase two projects will climb to 300MW.

The project, located in Zarqa, some 35 kilometers north of Jordan's capital of Amman, is expected to start commercial operation by June, 2010, according to Said Alloush, chairman of the SEPGCO.

Khaldoun Quteishat, Jordan's Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources, said the project will support Jordan's national grid to meet the growing demand for electricity and make contribution to the interconnection grids of neighboring countries.

In the meantime, it will offer an opportunity for the two countries to explore the potential cooperation in the field of energy.

Wang Lujun, head of the SEPCO III, thanked the Jordanian side for the chance given to the Chinese side to play a role in Jordan's economic development. He said this is the first project SEPCO III carries on in Middle East.

The firm will endeavor to develop the project as a milestone and hope it could open a door for future robust cooperation with the region.

SEPCOIII is one of leading engineering enterprises in China's electric power sector. Its business line covers thermal power project, nuclear power project, gas-fired power project, hydropower project, wind power project and biological power project.

Moreover, SEPCOIII will have the highest annual average installed capacity in Chinese electric power sector given that it has since 1985 when it was founded installed capacity of 16000MW, with single unit capacity ranging from 12MW to 1000MW.

(Xinhua News Agency September 23, 2008)