SEOUL: South Korea's Samsung Engineering said on Tuesday it had won a $2.1 billion order to build a power plant in Kazakhstan as the central Asian nation bids to meet growing energy demand.

Under the deal Samsung will build a thermal power plant with a capacity of 1,320 megawatts in southern Balkhash by 2018, Samsung said in a statement.

"Samsung Engineering is looking forward to being part of the modernisation of Kazakhstan's power sector and furthering the strong ties between the two countries," it said.

Kazakhstan, a former Soviet republic the size of western Europe, sits on enormous fossil fuel reserves and supplies of other vital minerals.

Rising energy prices have helped its economy post robust growth despite Europe's debt crisis. AGENCIES