Construction of a €400m Board Gais power plant has got underway in Cork - promising to generate over 600 building jobs.

The Whitegate plant project is expected to be complete by June 2010, and will power around half a million homes.

Bord Gais, a supplier of natural gas across Ireland, will create around 600 construction jobs during the building of the new site.

The new 445 MW facility is a combined cycle gas turbine (CCGT) plant, which is designed to operate on natural gas as the primary fuel.

-- Advertisement --

A consortium made up of General Electric and Gama Power Systems (GE-Gama) will construction the plant, located adjacent to the existing ConocoPhillips refinery.

Bord Gais CEO John Mullins said: "The Whitegate power plant project is a very significant development for Bord Gais.

"It represents our first major investment in the Irish power generation sector, supporting our strategy in the retail electricity market and providing much needed power to meet growing national demand.

"Bord Gais currently serves over 11 000 businesses with electricity and we plan to enter the residential electricity market in the near future, offering real choice and value to households across the country."

(PR/JM)