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Iraq Kurdish zone invites power plant bids

Baghdad, August 25, 2011

Iraq's semi-autonomous Kurdish region has invited investors to build up to 4,500 megawatts (MW) of power plants to increase its capacity to 6,000 MW, the Electricity Ministry said on Thursday.

Investors are needed to build and operate the power plants, the Kurdistan Regional Government's Electricity Ministry said in a statement published in local newspaper Asharq al-Awsat.

The ministry also called for proposals to build a 400-kilovolt (kV) electricity network to link to the region's existing 132-kV grid. Proposals are due by September 15, it said.

Iraq's summer demand can reach 15,000 MW but its generation capacity is only around 7,000 MW, or enough for just eight hours a day for most of the country, former electricity minister Raad Shallal said in March.

The Kurdish zone, which enjoys greater economic stability and security than other parts of Iraq, has been able to meet electricity demand for round 22 hours a day during the peak demand month of August, the Kurdish electricity ministry said.

Shallal resigned from his post earlier this month on the request of Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki after multi-million dollar irregularities were discovered in power deals with two foreign firms.

 Kurdistan gets 17 per cent of the total federal budget. Iraq's 2011 budget was $82.6 billion based on an average oil price of $76.50 a barrel.-Reuters




Tags: demand | power plant | bids | proposal | iraq kurdistan |

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