Saudi Arabia has completed prequalification for the third round of its Combined Cycle Gas Turbine (CCGT) Independent Power Producer (IPP) programme and qualified 13 companies, according to a report dated 27 September 2026. The qualification process was launched in July 2026 under the supervision of the Ministry of Energy.
The qualified companies are reported to be TAQA (Abu Dhabi National Energy Company), ACWA Power, Al Bawani Capital, Al Jomaih Energy and Water, EDF, Etihad Development Company, Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO), Mitsubishi Power, Nesma Renewable Energy, Marafiq (Power and Water Utility Company for Jubail and Yanbu), POWERCHINA, Saudi Energy and Sumitomo Corporation. The projects follow a BOO (Build-Own-Operate) model for natural gas-fired CCGT plants, with Saudi Power Procurement Company (SPPC) as the buyer. The designs are said to include carbon capture (CC) readiness provisions. Individual project names, capacities and bid dates were not identified in the report.
Thirteen companies were qualified. The first round comprised Taiba 1 and 2 and Qassim 1 and 2, and the second round Rumah 1 and 2 and Nairyah 1 and 2. Each plant is about 1,800 MW, for a combined 14.4 GW across the two rounds.
Saudi Arabia is running successive CCGT IPP rounds through SPPC to expand gas-based generation capacity.
The qualified list spans Middle Eastern, East Asian, European and Chinese firms, indicating that large gas-fired IPP procurement is run as an internationally competitive market. Carbon capture readiness as a design requirement suggests that low-carbon preparedness is becoming a precondition for new gas-fired projects. With 14.4 GW already progressing across two rounds, medium-term demand for turbine suppliers, EPC contractors and gas supply chains is likely to continue.
Watch when the third-round project names, capacities and bid submission dates are released. Which consortia the 13 companies form is also of interest. It will also be worth seeing how third-round tariffs compare with the results of the first two rounds.