Finnish power company Wartsila has signed a 138 million euro ($180.5 million) contract to install and operate Mozambique’s largest gas fuelled power plant.

Wartsila announced on Thursday that it had secured the deal, which sees the company agree to install not only the power plant, but also construct a sub-plant and gas pipeline; in a bid to boost the power infrastructure of the southern African country.

The plant – which will be fuelled by gas engines – will be the largest gas power plant installed in Mozambique to date, and the second largest such installation on the African continent.

“There is rapidly growing demand in Mozambique for electricity, and Wärtsilä has demonstrated its capability to provide competitive and comprehensive turnkey power plants with outstanding operational efficiency and minimum environmental impact,” said Vesa Riihimäki President of Power Plants at the Wartsila Corporation.

The agreement was reached between Wartsila and joint venture Central Termica de Ressano Garcia, which is owned by South Africa’s Sasol, and the Mozambican state-owned power utility Electricidade de Moçambique (EDM).

The installation – billed for completion by May 2014 – will be powered by 18 Wartsila designed 34SG gas engines, which will be supplied with natural gas from Mozambique’s Pande and Temane gas fields – making the most of the country’s rich natural gas reserves in order to increase power output.

Once completed and in operation, Wartsila will sell electricity produced to EDM.

The Finnish company is rapidly growing its presence on the African continent, positioning itself as a leading power plant provider and operator, particularly in respect of gas fuelled plants. To date, the company has installed 470 plants in Africa, accounting for an electricity output of 5,000 megawatts.

Wartsila most recently agreed the installation of a gas fuelled plant in Sasolburg in South Africa, which is in the final stages of construction.