Iraq to offer power plant deals to boost electricity

Iraq will soon ask for bids on projects to install and run 22 gas turbines that could boost its power generating capacity by 30 per cent in the next few years, an Electricity Ministry official said on Tuesday. The ministry plans to ask companies to build plants in four provinces, install and operate turbines it has already purchased from General Electric and sell the power back to the government.

Power-starved Iraq, trying to rebuild after years of war and economic sanctions, hopes to triple its electricity capacity to 27,000 megawatts from the current 9,000 MW in four years. Laith al-Mamury, the head of investments and contracts at the Electricity Ministry, said the deal will allow the companies to buy the turbines on a delayed payment plan. "I believe on November 30 it will be offered to the companies," Mamury told Reuters in an interview. "We have the units. The investor will come to finish the rest of the equipment and operate the plant for 20 to 25 years," he said. The 22 gas turbines, valued at €30 million ($40.25 million) each, would be installed in Diwaniya, Muthanna, Maysan and Basra provinces, Mamury said. The turbines would produce 125 MW each, or 2,750 MW in total, more than 10 per cent of Iraq's ultimate goal of 27,000 MW. They were among 72 turbines Iraq purchased in 2008 from GE and Siemens in deals worth more than $5 billion.