General Electric on Wednesday announced that Iraq’s Ministry of Electricity awarded it a contract worth more than $1.4 billion to set up power plants, upgrade technology and provide maintenance services.
The agreements will add more than 2,000 megawatts of electricity and secure the development of about 1,750 megawatts to the country’s power grid.
In Phase I, GE will set up two plants with four gas turbines each for a total of 1,500 megawatts. GE will also supply heat recovery steam generators and steam turbine technology, and will serve as the engineering, procurement and construction contractor.
In Phase II, GE will add more than 580 megawatts to the grid through upgrades and repairs at four power plants. It will sustain about 1,750 megawatts of existing output through maintenance of gas turbines at six plants across Iraq, increasing the reliability and efficiency of the system in the process.
General Electric also has been helping Iraq find money to pay for these projects — about $2 billion in financing for energy projects in 2016 alone — through a strong relationship with lenders.
The company has a 40-year history in Iraq, and there are more than 130 GE turbines in service in the country.
