East Amman
Power Plant IPP4

Civil Works for a
New Generation Plant

The East Amman Electrical Power Plant — designated IPP4 in Jordan's sequence of independent power producer projects — is a utility-scale generation facility located on the eastern outskirts of Amman, developed to add dispatchable generation capacity to Jordan's national grid. CEC was engaged to deliver the civil and structural works that form the foundation of the plant: the platforms, foundations, and supporting infrastructure on which the mechanical and electrical generation equipment is installed.

Jordan's electricity sector has pursued a deliberate strategy of diversifying generation sources and adding independent power producer capacity over the past two decades, reducing reliance on any single fuel source or generation site and improving the resilience of the national grid. IPP projects like the East Amman plant are typically developed under long-term Power Purchase Agreements with the National Electric Power Company (NEPCO), Jordan's state-owned transmission utility, which dispatches and purchases power from the plant once operational.

CEC's role on IPP4 sits at the intersection of our civil engineering and energy infrastructure capabilities — heavy civil works executed to the exacting tolerances and load requirements that power generation equipment manufacturers specify, delivered on a programme that interfaces directly with the mechanical, electrical, and commissioning contractors responsible for the plant's generation equipment.

Engineering Challenges

Civil works for a power generation facility differ substantially from conventional building construction, with several challenges specific to this project:

• Precision turbine and generator foundations: Foundations for gas turbines and generator sets must be constructed to extremely tight tolerances for level, alignment, and embedded anchor bolt positioning — errors of a few millimeters can affect equipment installation and long-term vibration performance.
• Switchyard civil works: The plant's switchyard required extensive civil works including equipment foundations for transformers and switchgear, cable trench networks, and grounding grid installation — all coordinated with the electrical contractor's equipment layout drawings.
• Fuel and gas handling infrastructure: Civil works supporting fuel and gas handling systems — including pipe racks, bunding, and containment structures — required strict adherence to safety-critical specifications given the hazardous nature of the materials involved.
• Cooling system foundations: Foundations and civil infrastructure for the plant's cooling systems had to accommodate large equipment loads while integrating with the site's water supply and discharge infrastructure.

Scope of Work

CEC's scope on the East Amman Power Plant (IPP4) covered the civil and structural works package: site grading and earthworks for the plant platform, foundations for turbine and generator sets built to manufacturer-specified tolerances, switchyard civil works including transformer foundations and cable trenches, civil infrastructure for fuel and gas handling systems, foundations and platforms for cooling systems, internal roads and hardstanding areas for plant access and maintenance, and site drainage and grounding grid installation — all delivered in close coordination with the mechanical and electrical contractors responsible for the generation equipment.

Quality & Safety

Power plant civil works are subject to verification against equipment manufacturers' installation tolerances as well as NEPCO's own technical standards. CEC maintained a rigorous survey and quality control regime throughout the foundation works, with independent checking of critical dimensions before concrete placement and full documentation handed over to the mechanical and electrical contractors ahead of equipment installation. Site safety on an active power plant construction site — with multiple specialist contractors working concurrently — was managed through coordinated permit-to-work systems and close liaison with all parties on site.