Korea Electric Power Corp. has completed its coal-fired power plant in Jordan with a capacity of 373 megawatt, the state-run utility said Tuesday.

A consortium led by Korea’s sole power grid operator in July 2008 grabbed the deal worth $460,000, the company’s first in the Middle East.

Under the contract, KEPCO will keep a 25 percent stake in the facility for the next 25 years and its affiliate Korea Southern Power will maintain and operate it. The Jordanian government will provide a payment guarantee. Lotte Construction took charge of construction work.

The plant, which will account for 11 percent of the Middle Eastern country’s power generation capacity, will enable KEPCO to generate $1.2 billion in revenues and $220,000 in net income during the period, the company said in a statement.

KEPCO has been aggressive in overseas projects as it strives to shake off a mountain of debt at home due to extremely cheap electricity rates relative to skyrocketing raw material costs, thus exacerbating its balance sheet.

As of end-2010, the listed firm has 33.4 trillion won in debt, according to data by the Ministry of Knowledge Economy. That translates to a debt-to-equity ratio of 81 percent, up from 48 percent in 2006.

“We’ve been stuck in the red for the past four years. So we’re trying to alleviate the burden by making profits abroad,” Vice President Cho Eun-hyo told reporters in Al Qatrana, Jordan.

The company is currently taking part in programs for thermal and nuclear power, electric transmission, renewable energy and resources exploration in 23 countries.

Korea is also seeking to build nuclear power stations in Jordan.

By Shin Hyon-hee (heeshin@heraldcorp.com)