Transco appoints Prysmian Cables for $250m project

Transco has appointed Prysmian Cables for a $250m project in the UAE Capital. (Getty Images)

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The Abu Dhabi Transmission and Dispatch Company (Transco) has inked a deal with Prysmian Cables and Systems for a $250m cable installation project in the UAE capital, it was announced on Tuesday.

The 230km, 400kV project will see extra high voltage power cables manufactured for the Bahia and Saadiyat grids, and will form a significant part of the infrastructure development within the city. The cables will replace existing overhead power lines and will run underground.

Although Prysmian will manufacture the cables, Abu Dhabi based joint venture Borouge, will be assisting the manufacturer on the project by providing insulation, semi-conductive and jacketing materials that will address the project’s critical demands for reliable, consistent and long-term performance.

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Borouge is the joint venture created by the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company and Borealis, an Austrian chemical and plastics provider and manufacturer.

The manufacturer aims to provide more than 350,000 tonnes of Low Density Polyethylene annually from its yet-to-be-completed plant in Ruwais, Abu Dhabi.

Built as part of its Borouge 3 expansion, the plant is expected to be completed by 2013 and will help the company manufacture Cross-linked Polyethylene for the global wire and cable market.

As part of the Transco project, Borouge will provide Prysmian with Superclean insulation and Supersmooth semi-conductive compounds. These highly advanced plastics are manufactured by Borealis and distributed throughout the UAE by Borouge.

The Superclean cable material is manufactured using advanced procedures so as to ensure that the cables are free from contamination and that cleanliness is maintained to the point of delivery.

The performance of these insulation materials is complemented when used in conjunction with Supersmooth semi-conductive compounds, which ensures better friction resistance to be pulled into ducts, lower shrinkage and excellent Environmental Stress Cracking Resistance in sea water.

“Cable durability is especially important for those customers serving the high voltage cable market, where the need for cables that deliver consistent, high performance under extreme electrical stress is crucial,” said Roland Janssen, vice president, Marketing Centre for Wires and Cables, Borouge.

The new power link is of critical importance to the capital’s power transmission system as it connects the Bahia and Saadiyat grids with some of Abu Dhabi’s most prestigious infrastructure and real estate developments.

These include Yas Island, the home of the Formula 1 racing track and Saadiyat Island’s Abu Dhabi Cultural District, which hosts global museums like the Louvre and the Guggenheim.

“We are excited about the addition of XLPE production capacity at our polyefins plant in the Middle East, which will allow us to satisfy even more, the growing global customer demand for wire and cable products,” Janssen added.