Date : 2017-11-24 12:10:24

GE in $400m Iraq substation deal

GE Power has signed a $400m deal with the Ministry of Electricity in Iraq to develop 14 substations across the country.

The deal will also see GE provide transformers, circuit breakers and other outdoor equipment to rehabilitate existing substations to bring power to areas facing significant electricity shortages.

GE said the project represents “a strategic milestone” and added that it will support the ministry to secure funding through various financial channels, including export credit agencies and commercial banks.

Mussab al-Mudaris of the Iraqi Ministry of Electricity said the agreement “represents a major milestone in our efforts to strengthen Iraq,s power transmission sector, through a comprehensive grid project across the nation”.

He added: “Our focus remains on providing our people with the most reliable and advanced technology to meet their daily needs, and to accomplish this we need strong partners in this journey of development and reconstruction.”

GE will develop the substations to connect power plants spread across the governorates of Ninawa, Salah Al Din, Al Anbar, Karbala, Baghdad, Qadisiyyah and Basra to the national grid. Several of the locations, in conflict-affected areas, are continuing to recover and are in immediate need of reliable power infrastructure

GE Power has previously provided power equipment for some of the plants that the substations will be connected to, including the 3 GW Basmaya plant.

The current agreement includes four substations critical to distributing power from the facility, which is also being equipped with eight of GE,s 9FA gas turbines, four GE C7 steam turbines and GE,s leading digital industrial applications.

Mohammed Mohaisen, President of GE Power,s Grid Solutions business in the Middle East, North Africa and Turkey, said that “a holistic approach to national infrastructure building is vital, from the provision of technical expertise to working with partners, such as Export Credit Agencies, in securing long-term financial solutions”.

“This agreement is a continuation of our firm commitment to driving industry and infrastructure forward in Iraq, working with the Ministry of Electricity in finding sustainable and effective solutions to some of the country’s most pressing issues.”