Marc Lepièce, general manager of the power and gas division of global engineering consultancy Tractebel, said his company is proud of its 10-year cooperation with Jordan crowned by the construction of the country’s gas transmission network. Now Brussels-based Tractebel is gearing up for a new decade of projects in the Kingdom, including the formation of a fleet of buses fueled with compressed natural gas.

What are your main achievements in Jordan?

We became technical advisers for the 395-kilometer-long Jordan Gas Transmission Pipeline built to transport natural gas coming from Egypt, passing through Aqaba and reaching the power plants of Rehab and Samra in Jordan’s north.

In 2012, we became advisors for the development of the LNG Import Terminal in Aqaba, now in operation since July.

What are Tractebel’s next steps?

We are currently assisting with the development of a 33 MWp power plant in Ghor Al Safi by the Arab Potash Company and I think there will be many other opportunities for expanding such projects in the future. I talked with a representative of the municipality of Amman in charge of transportation and pointed out that the capital doesn’t have a nice fleet of buses; an idea would be to develop a fleet of buses fueled with compressed natural gas. They would be clean buses that would also help improve the traffic management in the city.

How attractive is Jordan’s energy market?

This is a very palatable market both for local as well as foreign investors. The experience we gained in Europe on renewables can also be shared with countries like Jordan. Sharing expertise is our business. We have good relationships in the country and are continuing to extend our network.