Capgent in deal to build 10 power plants in Iraq

Canadian firm Capgent has signed a $1.66 billion (Dh6 billion) deal with the Iraqi electricity ministry to build 10 fuel oil-fired power plants of 100 megawatts each to help battle electricity shortages in the country, a ministry spokesman said yesterday. Musa'ab Al Mudaris said the power plants, which will be installed in Iraq's western Anbar and the central Salaheddin provinces, will be constructed within 12 months from start of work. The new plants are part of 50 power stations that Baghdad has decided to install as an emergency plan to offset electricity shortages in the country, he said. Capgent, or Canadian Alliance for Power Generation Equipment, is a builder of thermal and diesel plant power plants, based in Vancouver. Article continues below Iraq, which suffers from an acute power shortage, hopes to at least double its power generation capacity, which stands at only 6,500 MW, less than half of the country's actual electricity requirements. More than eight years after the US-led invasion, Iraq's national grid provides only a few hours of power each day during summer when temperatures soar to 50 degrees Celsius. The ministry earlier this year opened bids to build seven large power plants across the country that could boost its power generating capacity by 4,000 MW. It also announced earlier this year that it would separately build 50 small power plants by the summer of 2012 to alleviate shortages.