Wed, 30 Nov 2016 

Iran and Romania signed an initial agreement to build a 1,000-MW power plant near the Iraqi border.

The agreement was signed during Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif's recent visit to several east European states, IRNA reported.

"One of the achievements of the trip was the signing of an MoU for the construction of a 1,000-MW power station in Mehran, Ilam Province, to be financed by Iranian and Romanian investors," said Mohammad Azadi, a member of the economic delegation accompanying Zarif.

The deal, which was signed between a Romanian party and Pichak Sanat Ilam Company of Iran, calls for an investment of up to $700 million, of which 70 percent will be sourced by the Romanians and the rest by Iran.

The plant is intended for electricity exports to Iran's western neighbor, Azadi said.

Iran is currently exporting some 1,500 MW of electricity to Iraq while the capacity is being expanded to increase this figure to 2,000 MW.

Earlier this month, Deputy Energy Minister Houshang Falahatian had said that Iraq had an outstanding debt of $1 billion to Iran pertaining to the purchase of electricity and the two neighbors were discussing mechanisms to settle the dues.

Iran is also building a natural gas combined cycle power plant in Basra, Iraq at a cost of $2.5 billion.

The project, undertaken by Iran's MAPNA Group, aims to add 3,000 MW of electricity to Iraq's national grid which is riddled with acute shortfalls at its current 8,500-MW capacity.

Iran is also building separate pipelines to transfer gas to Iraq to feed power plants in Basra and Baghdad.

© Iran Daily 2016