ESB International (ESBI), the consulting arm of the State-owned energy company, is close to announcing more than €50 million worth of new contracts in the Middle East and Europe.

ESBI has picked up nine new contracts in Ireland, Malta, Saudia Arabia, Oman and Bahrain.

The largest award is a €17 million contract over four years with Saudi Electricity Company, which is building a new gas power plant in the north of the country.

“We are particularly excited by this contract because it includes a very large solar element to heat the water for the plant. It will help us develop more of a capability in this area,” said Ollie Brogan, ESBI’s chief executive.

As part of the contract Saudi Electricity Company will send 20 of its senior staff to Dublin for an eight-week training course next month.

ESBI has previously invested in a Muslim prayer room and other facilities at its Dublin offices to facilitate visits from Arab customers.

Smelting plant

Mr Brogan said ESBI has also been chosen by Aluminium Bahrain (Alba) for a €7 million contract to help it build a smelting plant, which includes 5,000MW of on-site electricity capacity. The company is also advising the Oman government on the building of power plants.

Mr Brogan, a member of the famous Dublin GAA family, said ESBI is focused on further growth in the Middle East and Asia. It has also completed several projects in South Africa, where it also sponsors the South Africa Gaels GAA team, who are in Dublin this week for the GAA World Games at UCD.

ESBI is also seeking new business by tendering for several projects financed by the World Bank. Mr Brogan said ESBI was also seeking to develop its capabilities in the installation and repair of submarine cables.

“One area we are looking at is working on the undersea cables used by offshore wind farms. We think this could be a major growth area worldwide.”