A massive new power and water plant is now in the final stages of commissioning in Bahrain.

Al Dur Power and Water Company chief executive Pierre Depauw said it would be up and running at some stage this summer and is being commissioned in co-ordination with the Electricity and Water Authority (EWA).

'The plant is under the final stages of commissioning and should be commercially operating soon,' he said.

'The plant was meant to be ready in the summer and it will be, but it's hard to give a definitive date.'

The BD2 billion ($5.3 billion) plant is expected to contribute 30 per cent of Bahrain's electricity once it starts operating.

Sources close to the project have said it won't be fully operational until August - although Depauw said that was difficult to predict.

Following the initial commissioning testing phase, the plant will be capable of providing 400 megawatts of electricity, hopefully spelling an end to power cuts during the hot summer months.

Its output is due to more than treble to 1,245MW by the summer next year.

The plant, located on Bahrain's southeast coast, is expected to ease the burden on the country's existing power plants, which can't cope with rising demand for electricity.

The plant will also help meet Bahrain's rising demand for water, with a maximum output of around 48 million gallons a day.-TradeArabia News Service