The developer of the Bordersley 5 MW gas-fuelled power generation plant, in the UK, Mast Energy Developments (MED), has faced some disruption to the project as a result of its joint development partner, AB Impianti, which is based near Milan, Italy, having had to temporarily halt operations at its factories.
Italy is one of the countries worst-affected by the coronavirus outbreak and large parts of the country have been put under quarantine.
AB is managing the end-to-end engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) scope of works for the Bordersley plant. This includes providing exclusive access to its construction and engineering capacity and capability, as well as its cogeneration plant and equipment.
As a result of the coronavirus outbreak, the EPC scope of work has been delayed, meaning Bordersley’s commissioning will not be possible in the first quarter of this year.
MED, a 60%-owned subsidiary of JSE-listed Kibo Energy, and AB continue to progress activity as much as possible but at present cannot advise on revised project schedules as a result of the ongoing impact of coronavirus on the plant.
“This is clearly an unprecedented time and as we take guidance from official sources with regard to managing the coronavirus outbreak, it goes without saying that the safety of employees and their families is our priority,” commented Kibo CEO Louis Coetzee.