Taihan Cable wins $42 mn order for power grid in Kuwait

South Korea's Taihan Cable & Solution Co. announced on Friday that it has won a $42 million turnkey project to build a 400kV ultra-high voltage power grid in Kuwait.

The company signed a deal with Kuwait's Ministry of Electricity, Water & Renewable Energy (MEW) to construct underground cables that link a substation in Al Wafrah, located in the south, to a power plant in Kiran New City and a substation in the Sulaibiya area.

Taihan Cable will supply all materials, including ultra-high voltage cables and connectors, and perform the entire project, including power network design, installation, connection, and testing.

According to the company, Kuwait has stringent bidding conditions, with only a handful of global companies from Europe, and Japan allowed to bid for projects in the 300-400kV class of ultra-high voltage grids.

The Kuwaiti market poses a significant challenge for power grid projects, with stringent criteria that limit bidding to a select group of global companies, primarily from Europe and Japan, for projects involving 300~400kV ultra-high voltage power grids.

Taihan has a proven track record in Kuwait, having completed a 400kV power grid project in 2019 and securing a $65 million contract for a 300kV power grid project the following year.

Taihan's Kuwaiti subsidiary Taihan Kuwait plans to build a factory in March dedicated to producing optical cables.

With this expansion, the company aims to leverage its local network and sales force in the Kuwaiti market.

Write to Jeong-Soo Hwang at hjs@hankyung.com