Island Power's project manager, Michael Reading, told the Singaporean media that the company was looking at a 720-730 megawatt power station and with a lead time of 24-30 months, it should be ready by 2005-2006. This should tie in with expected delivery of gas from Indonesia around 2005.

While Mr Reading was reluctant to discuss how much the project would cost, industry analysts estimate a price tag of around $500 million to $700 million. "We are committed to this market, and its just a matter of schedules," Mr Reading said.

Island Power is a unit of joint venture InterGen, which involves the Royal Dutch/Shell Group and US-based construction giant Bechtel Inc.