Iraq inks a $500m agreement to implement energy projects

Iraqi government signed a $500 million agreement with Swedish ABB Company to implement energy projects, according to a statement issued by Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi on Sunday.
The statement said that the government of Iraq and the Swedish company ABB agreed to implement energy transmission projects worth $500m.
The agreement was signed by Iraqi Minister of Electricity Qasim Mohamed Fahdawy and Minister of Finance Abdel Razek Eissa, as well as Frak Dughan, head of executive committee in ABB.
Iraq has been suffering for a long period from electricity shortages.
It is to be noted that General Electric (GE) has further strengthened its operations in Iraq to support the country’s power infrastructure and to meet the growing need for electricity from people and industries.
GE recently signed agreements that will add over 2 gigawatts (GW) of power and secure the delivery of 1.75 GW of existing power to the national grid.
GE will set up the Samawa and Dhi Qar power plants, adding 1,500 megawatts (MW) to the grid.
In the first phase of the project, GE will install four gas turbines in simple cycle at each site by 2018.
The second phase will entail the combined cycle conversion of the turbine units.
GE is also supplying advanced heat recovery steam generators (HRSG) and steam turbine technology. It is also serving as the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contractor for the projects.
Since 2016, GE has helped the country secure $2 billion in financing for projects in the energy sector leveraging its global sourcing capabilities coupled with its strong relationships with lenders.