Siemens and Orascom Construction have been appointed by Iraq’s Ministry of Electricity to rebuild the Baiji 1 and Baiji 2 power plants in the northern part of the country. Work will begin once the contracts are approved by Iraq’s Council of Ministers and a financial agreement is reached with the Ministry of Finance.
The power plants were severely damaged and recovering lost capacity will help Iraq power its biggest oil refinery located in the city, a concrete plant, and will provide electricity to thousands of homes in Salahuddin province and other areas, Siemens said.
The plants will have a combined generation capacity of 1.6 gigawatts (GW). Siemens says it has already added 700MW to the country’s grid, as part of its roadmap to rebuild the country’s power sector.
As per the deal, Siemens will supply four new SGT5-2000E gas turbines and will inspect and revamp six existing ones. The company will also provide two 400kV and one 132kV substations, along with generators, auxiliaries, automation and control systems, and related electrical equipment.
“Iraq’s economic transformation is picking up pace and this project demonstrates Siemens’ commitment to help Iraq’s Ministry of Electricity provide efficient and reliable power to all its people. We are proud to begin this project to help Iraqis in liberated areas recover and prosper,” said Dietmar Siersdorfer, CEO Siemens Middle East and UAE.
Iraq’s Electricity Minister Luay al-Khateeb, Siemens AG’s Joe Kaeser and Osama Bishai, the CEO of Orascom Construction, witnessed the signing of the agreement on the sidelines of the Iraq Energy Forum 2019 in Baghdad.
Discussing the deal, Karim Amin, CEO of Power Generation at Siemens AG added, “The reconstruction of Baiji 1 and 2 power plants mark the second phase of our roadmap in Iraq and will be the biggest so far in terms of power generating capacity when both plants are completed. The rebuilding of Baiji will secure 1.6GW and will create hundreds of jobs, which is a further demonstration of Siemens’ commitment to support knowledge transfer to the Iraqi people.”