Korean Company to Build African Power Plant

State-run utility Korea Electric Power Corp (KEPCO) has won a US$450m deal with West African Power Pool (WAPP) to build a power station and a power transmission system in Western Africa, the company has announced.

Under the deal, the South Korean power unit plans to construct a 400MW combined cycle power plant in Maria-Gleta, a free-trade zone near Porto Novo, capital of the Benin Republic.

"Our latest deal is only the beginning of the large-scale project for WAPP," a KEPCO spokesman told The Korea Times.

KEPCO President and CEO Lee Won-gul and WAPP Secretary General Joseph Makoju signed the contract at the KEPCO headquarters in southern Seoul.

Last month, KEPCO signed a memorandum of understanding with Turkish construction company ENKA in a bid to win an order to build a nuclear power plant there.

By Ozge Ibrahim