Siemens signs deal to build two gas-fired power plants in Libya

Siemens, the German industrial group, plans to build two gas-fired power stations in Libya, in a fillip for its struggling power division which is shedding staff as developed economies shift to renewable sources of energy.

Siemens Power and Gas signed the agreements on Thursday with Libyan state utility GECOL on the plants, a company spokesman said without elaborating.

The deal follows an announcement by Siemens last month that it would cut 6,900 jobs, or around 2 percent of its global workforce. Most of the jobs would be shed by 2020 at its energy unit as demand for gas turbines fades.

The firm’s home market Germany and much of Europe is shifting increasingly to wind and solar power, but energy-hungry markets elsewhere are still yielding significant business for the power division.

Siemens signed an 8 billion-euro ($9.4 billion) deal in June to supply gas and wind power plants to Egypt in a deal that would boost the North African country’s electricity generation by 50 percent.

Source: reuters.com