Working with Horizons Engineering, its dealer in Jordan and Iraq, FG Wilson recently completed the power installation at Basra Sports City, an $800 million (£550m) mixed-use development which has received worldwide acclaim since officially opening in 2013.
Comprising a 65 000 capacity main stadium, a secondary stadium big enough to house 10 000 people, four training fields and eight athletics arenas, the Iraq venue is set to host the 2015 Gulf Cup of Nations soccer tournament. Basra Sports City is also home to four five-star hotels as well as restaurants, a sports residential complex, a man-made lake, service buildings and a fire station.

Horizons managed the installation of seven FG Wilson gensets – including one main FG Wilson 2500 kVA / 11 kV generator set, two 800 kVA containerised units, two 750 kVA containerised units and two 400 kVA canopy units. These are currently providing prime power to the entire 558-acre complex, but will revert to a back-up power function at a later stage of the construction process, when major international events start to take place in Basra Sports City.

The installaton has been a big success for Horizons, which has been named as the preferred supplier of power solutions for two major government-funded sports complexes in Iraq – the Holy Al Najaf Stadium and Al Menaa Stadium.

Challenges

"There were several difficult challenges to be overcome, not least the local security issues, strict construction deadlines and the on-site ambient temperature"

It was the first time Horizons had worked on a project of this scale and there were several difficult challenges to be overcome, not least the local security issues, strict construction deadlines and the on-site ambient temperature.

Mohammed Ali Kilani, deputy managing director of Horizons, commented: ‘As well as the huge scale of the project, our team and that of FG Wilson had to … ensure that the design, specification and installation of the generator sets met the very specific deadlines dictated by the overarching construction project.

‘We had to carry out research to ascertain the specific type of generator set that was best suited to the site conditions and ensure the set loads were calculated to optimum levels, all the while having to contend with the ambient temperature of the site. Another major challenge unique to this project was the security situation in Iraq – our management team had to take every precaution to ensure the safe delivery of the units to the site and, of course, to protect the units while they were on site.’

Disposition

The largest 2500 kVA genset and the 750 kVA containerised unit are situated in the main stadium with the other 750 kVA generator set positioned in the 10 000-seater secondary arena. There are two generator sets (800 kVA and 400 kVA) located at the pumping station and waste water treatment plant, with one in the data centre and one in the VIP guest house.