Siemens will rebuild two power plants in Iraq
The German technology consortium Siemens announced today that it has won another major contract in Iraq and continues with its plans to expand the power grid in that country.
HANDOUT – (LR) Karim Amin, CEO of Siemens Power Generation, Waleed Khaled Hassan, CEO of General State Company for electricity production north region and Orascom CEO Osama Bishai pose for a photo after they signed a $ 1.3 billion deal to rebuild a major power plant complex in Baiji. Photo: Siemens / dpa
DW | Cecilia Caminos
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Leer en español: Siemens reconstruirá dos centrales eléctricas en Irak
Siemens will rebuild the Baiji 1 and 2 power plants, located north of Baghdad and will have a capacity of 1.6 gigawatts after completion, the Munich-based company announced.
The German company signed the contract with the Iraqi Ministry of Energy. The reconstruction of power plants is a decisive step in the company's strategy to expand the Iraqi energy network.
Baiji's power plants had been destroyed by fighters of the Islamic State (ISIS) terrorist organization. In the summer of 2014, a group of Siemens technicians had to be rescued from the area when the Islamists took it about 250 kilometers north of the capital, Baghdad. In Baiji there is also Iraq's largest oil refinery.
Siemens had already obtained contracts worth around 700 million euros in May (778 million dollars). Iraq wants to significantly expand the country's energy supply.
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In addition to Siemens, the American company General Electrics also competes for these contracts. The total volume of orders is around 14,000 million US dollars.
Siemens reported that the reconstruction of the two Baiji plants marks the second phase of the so-called "road map" in Iraq and represents the largest project to date in terms of electrical capacity.
Work will begin as soon as the Iraqi Council of Ministers has confirmed the contract and an agreement has been reached with the Ministry of Finance.
Siemens will supply gas turbines, generators and control systems for the project. The contract will be managed jointly with the Egyptian company Orascom.
