South African energy gaint, Sasol has signed an agreement with a Finnish company to operate and maintain a power plant in Sasolburg.

In a statement on Sunday, the group revealed that its subsidiary Sasol New Energy is building a gas power station in Sasolburg to supplement the group’s electricity supply.  It also indicated that the plant would be operational by 2013, with over 140 megawatts of electricity generated from natural gas, which is a fossil fuel cleaner and more efficient than coal.

According to Sasol New Energy head Henri Loubser, the development marks a milestone for the company as they “move closer” to increasing  South Africa’s electricity generation capacity for local requirements.

The development also means Sasol would be able reduce its carbon emissions from Sasolburg, by around a million tons a year.

Reports indicate that the Finnish group, Wärtsilä, would operate and maintain the facility on behalf of Sasol New Energy for three years, after which Sasol would leverage Wärtsilä’s experience to ensure that the power plant delivered the design output and would implement Wärtsilä’s global best practices.

Wärtsilä was also contracted to build and supply the plant.

Sasol,  a global petrochemical group producing fuels and chemicals, ranks 4th on the list of  Africa’s Top 250 companies.