General Electric has put its $1.2 billion Worsley Alumina power plant on the market and is believed to be receiving interest from major infrastructure investors.
According to the Australian, the strength of the bids is expected to lead to a trade sale rather than a float for the plant near Collie in Western Australia.
Australian Super, Duet, APA and Envestra have been listed as prospective buyers.
The two-unit multi-fuel cogeneration plant was built to meet the expansion requirements of BHP Billiton’s Worsley Alumina refinery, which is one of the largest such refineries in the world and has a capacity of 550tph of steam and 104MW of electricity.
The refinery is nearing the finish of a four-year efficiency and expansion project and, as a result, hundreds of jobs will be cut from its workforce.
The project included extending mining operations near Boddington, upping capacity at Collie refinery and an upgrade of the port at Bunbury. Over 8,000 were employed by the project.