Parts for a new coal-fired thermoelectric power plant under construction in southern Argentina have been shipped from China, according to a report in the Buenos Aires Economico newspaper.

Spanish engineering firm Isolux Corsan is in charge of the 240-megawatt plant, which will cost around $350 million and is expected to start operations toward the end of 2012.

President Cristina Fernandez awarded Isolux the contract for the plant, which is located in Rio Turbio, in the southern province of Santa Cruz, in December 2007.

The equipment shipped from China are parts for the two circulating fluidized bed, or CFB, steam generators being provided by Foster Wheeler Ltd. (FWLT), according to the report.

According to press reports at the time, the Argentine government is paying for construction of the power plant, which will be partly financed with proceeds from the sale of coal from the nearby state-owned Rio Turbio coal mine.

El Cronista said railroads have been upgraded to supply coal from the mine to the new power plant. The plant is expected to consume 350,000 tonnes of coal per year, according to the report.

A 500-kilovolt line is expected to be built between the plant and province capital Rio Gallegos, to connect to the national grid.

-By Matthew Cowley, Dow Jones Newswires; +54 11 4103 6740; matthew.cowley@dowjones.com