French gas major GDF Suez SA (GSZ.FR) said Tuesday its consortium has secured a contract to build and operate the much-delayed Zour north independent water and power project in Kuwait .

GDF Suez, along with Japan 's Sumitomo Corp. and Kuwaiti partner Abdullah Hamad Al Sagar & Brothers, will build a gas-fired combined cycle power plant of at least 1,500MW and an associated water desalination plant, it said in an emailed statement.

The project, which is expected to start commercial operations in 2015, will be jointly owned by the consortium, Kuwaiti public entities and by Kuwaiti nationals via an initial public offering, it said. The total cost will be funded by a mix of project finance debt and equity.

The Zour project will account for about 12% of Kuwait 's installed generation capacity and about 23% of its installed desalination capacity.

All of the plant's output will be purchased by the Gulf state's electricity and water ministry under a 40-year long-term agreement.

The construction contract has previously faced opposition in Kuwait 's parliament after lawmakers argued that the finance minister failed to set up a shareholding firm to build the project. The Partnerships Technical Bureau, which is responsible for awarding the contract, did not follow its articles when it made the tender award, opposition lawmakers have said.

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