Erbil - Iraqi Ministry of Electricity and Alstom multinational conglomerate signed Saturday a contract whereby the firm will construct a power generation plant in Nineveh province at €66 million (approx. US$93.7 million).
A statement published by the Ministry said the plant will begin generating by end of 2012.
Under the contract, Iraq has to pay 10% of the expenses in advance and 40% after a year from the date the firm will launch the construction of the project.
Details of the other installments and the date of launching the construction were not revealed.
Currently Iraq can provide only 7,000 MW, nearly half of its demand. The electricity infrastructure of the country is shattered due to years of war and sanctions.
The government is still unable to provide full time electricity for the citizens.
Local generator owners are coordinating with the government to provide each neighborhood with maximum 18 hours of electricity per day.
Frequent power cuts and limited electricity has often led to public protests.
© AK News 2011
