Centrax wins Tunisian power contract

Centrax Gas Turbines, the UK-based industrial power systems specialist, will supply the power package at the heart of a major new €32 million electrical plant that will meet the growing demand for tissue products throughout northern and central Africa. This investment by Tunisian tissue producer AZUR will utilize a Centrax 501-KB5 gas turbine to provide reliable, consistent and cost-effective supplies of electricity on which the purpose-built plant depends.

The gas-fuelled indoor 501-KB5 package is said to produce up to 3.9MW of power and its exhaust heat is recovered to benefit manufacturing processes at the plant. The Centrax package provides enough power to enable AZUR to supply its domestic market while also exporting 20 percent of its products to Algeria and a further 10 percent to Libya.

Located in Zaghauan, 100km south of Tunis, this plant will house new papermaking machinery capable of producing 9000 tonnes of tissue and hygiene products each year to meet the growing demand across Africa. An advanced plant of its kind in northern Africa, Zaghauan gains a further competitive advantage in the ability of the KB7 package to be upgraded easily and rapidly with the larger KB7 turbine in future – a key factor behind the choice of Centrax to power this facility.