The Iraqi Government has said that it has approved a plan from Siemens to develop power stations in the country in a deal said to be worth $15 billion. A Government statement said that Siemens had been selected as a partner in the plan to develop electricity projects in the country, but gave no further details.
Boosting power output is an urgent priority for Iraq, where sporadic outages and unpredictable supplies of electricity have hobbled the economy ever since the US-led invasion of 2003.
Siemens said in a statement: “We are obviously aware of the latest media reports from Iraq, and we stand committed to implementing our road map for the re-electrification of Iraq. So far, no concrete contracts have been signed to execute the scope outlined in the road map.”
GE, in competition with Siemens for the agreement, said: “GE continues to engage with the Government of Iraq to strengthen the country’s infrastructure. We have presented a holistic proposal covering the power sector from generation to transmission and distribution and beyond. We expect the Government to evaluate all the solutions put forward to make the best decision for the Iraqi people.”