Credible Sources at the Ministry of Electricity and Renewable Energy speaking to Al Mal have reported that the government intends to not move forward with the MoU’s for coal power plants that were signed last year during the Sharm El Sheikh Economic Conference in March 2015, and will opt for competitive tenders for coal fired plants. The Ministry had previously signed six MoUs for coal-powered plants on the Red-Sea coast, with investments of over USD23bn. The Ministry decided to resort to competitive tenders to be able to choose the best offers in term of technicality and pricing, in addition to the MoU capacity additions exceeding the Ministry’s current energy needs, the source added, where most of the cancelled MoU’s were signed on an EPC mechanism, which is relatively similar to turnkey projects. The Ministry has already started moving forward with the new plan, as a government body had communicated with top global consultants for submitting their offers, and has received four offers to date. The Ministry’s new tender for planned coal-fired power plant projects  will include three 2,000 MW plants, with investments of USD6 bn and will be executed on three equal phases, through BOOT ( build-own-operate-transfer) and EPC mechanisms, where it is expected to receive offers to the potential tender throughout 2017, the source added. (Al Mal)