Four 500MVA and sixteen 80 MVA transformers have been delivered to Reem Island by Abu Dhabi Transmission and Dispatch Company (Transco) in co-ordination with Bunya, for supply of electricity to the island.

This signals that work on the primary utility program is powering ahead according to the approved schedule, said a project official.

The delivery of the transformers is a major step in the island’s plan to deliver its infrastructure on time for the arrival of the first residents to their homes and offices in the first quarter of 2010, he added.

'The four 500 MVA and four 80 MVA transformers have arrived and were installed at the 400/132kV Grid Station in Reem Island,' said a top official of Bunya, which  successfully co-ordinated the massive operation.

Bunya, owned by three master developers of Reem Island - Tamouh Investments, Sorouh Real Estate and Reem Investments - is the municipal and resident regulatory authority and developer of regional infrastructure, utilities and sewage treatment on the island.

The delivery of the giant power equipment, each measuring 12.5m (L) x 4.1m (W) x 5m (H) and weighing 370 tons, were completed through a sophisticated logistics mission involving sea and land transportation along the island’s canals and roads, he noted.

The transformers arrived at Port Zayed in Abu Dhabi from Germany and were transported by barge through the island’s 2.5 km waterway to dock at a jetty designed and built solely by Transco for the purpose of transferring the units from the Port directly to Reem Island.

Each transformer was then loaded onto an 80-wheeler truck that drove through the island on a specially paved pathway to arrive two hours later to its final destination, the official added.

The Dh1.5 billion first phase of the project, includes a 400/132/22 kV grid station with a total capacity of 2000 MVA. The grid station consists of four transformers of 500 MVA each.

In a project that complements the above, a 132 kV cable network has been laid to connect the three substations with the Grid Station, and then to connect these to new loads in residential buildings, office towers, commercial centers, malls, hotels and tourist areas as well as district cooling plants.

Reem Island’s 400 kV grid station will also be connected to Abu Dhabi Grid Station through a 400 kV cable network project, which is nearing completion.

Preparations are underway to connect Reem Island with Saadiyat Island, through another 400 kV cable network, in order to create significant improvements in the reliability and efficiency of the system that inevitably ensures continuity of supply.

This latter project will be implemented at a cost of Dh1 billion. Reem Island is also expected to be connected to Suwwah Island.

Tariq Hatim Sultan, chief executive officer of Bunya said: “These four 500 MVA transformers form the backbone of the Grid Station. With their arrival on the island, work on the electricity supply continues as per the schedule.”

He pointed out that the other core components of the high-tech, dedicated power network – the 400/132kv Grid Station and four 132x22kV substations - will all be ready on schedule.

Each of the 132/22 kV substations will be servicing the zones of the three master developers: Tamouh Investments, Sorouh Real Estate and Reem Investments.

Equipment installation for Sorouh Real Estate substation will start soon, while Tamouh Investments’ and Reem Investments’ substations will be ready in December 2009 as per schedule, Sultan added.

'Bunya is delighted to announce that the five main projects that comprise the island's dedicated integrated power system will be completed well before many of the individual development projects are finished,' he said.

'This will ensure an immediate power supply to homes, offices and other businesses as they are comp