May 10 2012

Egypt’s Orascom wins $363 million power contract in Iraq

By Khayoun Saleh

Azzaman, May 10, 2012

The government has approved a $363 million contract with Egypt’s Orascom for the construction of a new power plant in northern Iraq.

Orascom Construction Industries has several contracts in the country and is one of few foreign firms which are heavily involved in Iraq’s post-war reconstruction despite security concerns.

Orascom’s deal with the Electricity Ministry is mainly for the installation and building of a construction site for six gas-driven German-made power-generating units.

The Siemens units had arrived in Iraq in 2008 but have remained idle since then. In total, the units have a capacity of more than 1,000 megawatts, a substantial volume given the country’s current power blackouts and shortages.

Electricity Ministry’s spokesperson who made the announcement did not say why the units were not installed for so many years.

The deal with Orascom, according to the spokesperson, Musaib al-Mudaris, includes “the construction of the power station … and the installations of the units which Iraq had purchased from Siemens.”

He added: “It will take 21 months for the project to be completed.”

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