Korea Electric Power Corp., South Korea's biggest electricity producer, won a $500 million order to build a power plant in Jordan with Saudi Arabia's Xenel Industries Ltd.

The project to build and operate a 373,000 kilowatt gas- fired power plant will start in May next year after a contract is signed, the Seoul-based company said in an e-mailed statement today. Korea Electric will own a 65 percent stake in the project and the Saudi Arabian company the rest.

The state-run power producer is expanding overseas as domestic electricity demand growth slows. Korea Electric plans to triple its overseas generating capacity to 10,000 megawatts by 2015 from the current 3,275 megawatts.

The plant will be built in Al Quatrana, 100 kilometers (62 miles) south of Anman, the capital of Jordan, according to the statement. Korea Electric and Xenel will be responsible for commercial operation of the plant from August 2011 through 2035, it said.

Korea Electric's shares rose 0.3 percent to 29,550 won at 2:07 p.m. in Seoul trading. The stock has declined 25 percent this year.