Russia's Energy Minister Sergei Shmatko will rebuild Iraqi power stations constructed in time of the Soviet Union.
Photo: Dmitry Dukhanin
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Russia to Light Up Iraq
Russia will proceed with executing electricity contracts in Iraq. The RF Energy Minister Sergei Shmatkov and Iraq’s Minister of Electricity Karim Wahid Hasan deliberated on potential cooperation yesterday. The first project could be rebuilding the Harta Thermal Plant by Tekhnopromexport. Russia’s chances to benefit from over $10 billion that Iraq intends to inject into its electricity facilities appear rather solid now.
Sergei Shmatko met with his Iraqi counterpart yesterday, August 18, 2008. The highlight was the rebuilding project for Harta Thermal Plant executed by Russia’s Tekhnopromexport. The company won the tender far back in 1990s, but the war in Iraq prevented it from beginning the work.
The war in the Persian Gulf lowered the installed capacity of Iraqi power plants to 5.5MW, while the actual requirement is 10,000MW during a year and up to 12,000MW in summer. The Iraqi authorities specified earlier that rebuilding the electricity sector calls for between $10 billion and $15 billion.
Tekhnopromexport is the three-time successful bidder for Harta, having won the respective tenders in 1997, 1999 and 2007. This plant of 400MW capacity operates on oil fuel and gas. The company is ready to start rebuilding provided the issues of security and the 1.5-year growth in prices for material and equipment are taken into account, said Tekhnopromexport briefer Natalia Starodumova.
www.kommersant.com
All the Article in Russian as of Aug. 19, 2008
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