Taihan Cable bags $60 mn high-voltage power grid deal in Bahrain

Taihan Cable & Solution Co., a South Korean major cable manufacturer, has won its first-ever order in Bahrain, worth about $60 million, to build high-voltage power grids in a move expected to pave the way for additional deals in the Middle Eastern Country.

The Korean company announced on Friday that it has signed a deal with Bahrain’s Electricity and Water Authority (EWA) to install 400-kilovolt (kV) underground cables in Al Jasra on the western coast of the Kingdom of Bahrain on a turnkey basis.

Under the term, Taihan Cable will not only supply all necessary materials including high-voltage cables but also carry out the power grid construction and test operations.

The deal, estimated at about $60 million, is Taihan Cable’s first deal on the island nation in the Persian Gulf.

It comes after the Korean cable manufacturer has successfully completed multiple major cable and power grid construction projects in other Middle Eastern countries such as Kuwait and Qatar over five decades. 

The latest deal is expected to lay the groundwork foradditional orders from Bahrain, which plans to improve its electricity infrastructure and add more renewable power plants.

“Bahrain has some of the greatest growth potential in the region,” said an official from Taihan Cable. “We will actively explore new business opportunities after this project.”

The Korean company is seeking to expand its presence in overseas markets with high-margin products like high-voltage cables.

It reported 41.7 billion won ($31.2 million) in operating profit on a consolidated basis in the first six months of this year, the best half-year result in two decades since 2003, according to the company’s regulatory filing in early August.

The company attributed the stellar performance to a jump in high-margin product sales.

It pins high hope on growing global demand for the replacement of aging power grids and renewable energy for its global expansion.

In May, it also bagged a $65 million contract to install 330-kV underground cables connecting substations in Kuwait City. Three months ago, it debuted on the German market with a 70 billion won deal to build 380-kV power grids.

Write to Ik-Hwan Kim at lovepen@hankyung.com

Sookyung Seo edited this article.