GE/ GAMA have been granted the contract to build a new Bord Gáis power plant in county Cork following a ten month tendering process.
The construction of the new plant will cost €400 million and will employ up to 300 people during its construction.
The proposed new plant will be located at Whitegate in east Cork, within the ConocoPhillips refinery site. Construction on the 440MW gas-fired, combined-cycle plant is scheduled to begin this October with the plant opening in 2010.
GE is an industry leader in the field with over 6,000 gas turbines installed worldwide. GAMA is the third largest international contractor in fossil fuel projects and has extensive worldwide experience in major infrastructure projects, including power plant projects in Ireland.
Bord Gáis entered the electricity supply business in 2001 and holds about 8 per cent of the total Irish market.
Dave Kirwan, head of Strategic Investments at Bord Gáis said in a statement today: "With GE/ GAMA, we have a highly experienced and respected partnership and we're looking forward to seeing the project move from the planning phase to construction in a few months time."
"We will now start meeting again with the local residents and businesses to discuss our construction plans and explain how we intend to manage the project so as to cause least possible disruption in the area."