In about 90 days, more people in the capital city of Conakry will have something to smile about— families will literally be able to see each other at nighttime. Thanks to Tombo 1, a 24-megawatt power plant project that USP&E is constructing with partner Asberbras in Guinea, there will be lights at nighttime. The containerized HFO power plant project, consisting of six MAN engines, is expected to be complete in three months.
Amr Elaguizy, Power Station Design and Construction Engineer at USP&E, says the project is an emotional one.
“All they’re asking for is one bulb in the home,” he says. “They’re not asking for an air conditioner, they’re not asking for a freezer, they just want one bulb to be able to see each other.”
Although the job is one for profit, Elaguizy says, he’d do it for free in a heartbeat. “You’ve got to appreciate what you’re doing for them,” he says. “If I had the choice to retire or work for nothing, I’d work for nothing because it’s a very interesting job.”
As of late June, the Guinea crew had finished all the containers and was only missing the connection of the heavy fuel oil and the light fuel oil from the tanks to the plant. After receiving parts that could take anywhere from a month to 2.5 months to arrive, the project will require an additional month of commissioning.
When working on a project of this magnitude, it’s important to have the right employees and good contractors. In a country, such as Guinea, where the unemployment rate is high, the education system is poor and the laborers wages are low, jobs like the ones that USP&E provides raises the technical knowledge and experience of these workers.
“We’re really raising the experience with these guys,” he says. “You raise the technical knowledge with some of the employees so that when you leave and you’re done with the project, they could go look for jobs with more experience and more income.”
Initially, the project consisted of Tombo 1, 2 and Kipe. Whether or not the next two phases of the power plant will be constructed has not yet been decided upon.
USP&E is a Celina-based full-service energy solutions company providing services in power station engineering, procurement, construction, operations and maintenance and emergency services for mission critical applications worldwide. For more information, go to www.uspowerco.com.