Iraq's Electricity Ministry said on Sunday it has awarded more than $900 million in contracts to three Turkish companies to install 20 gas turbines that will boost Iraq's power generating capacity by 2,500 megawatts. The turbines, which were purchased previously from General Electric, provide 125 MW each.
They were part of a deal Iraq signed in 2008 with GE for 56 gas turbines and with Siemens for 16 gas turbines. "The signing of the contracts will take place this week," the ministry said in a statement.
Calik Enerji won a $445.5 million contract to build a plant and install 10 turbines in Kerbala province in southern Iraq, the ministry said.
Turkish construction firm Enka Insaat won a $267.5 million deal to build a power plant and install six turbines in Nineveh province in northern Iraq.
A Turkish company called Eastern Lights will install four turbines in an existing plant in Baghdad under a contract worth $204.8 million, the ministry said.
Seven years after the US-led invasion Iraq's national grid still only supplies a few hours of power each day. An official said the turbines should be installed within 15 to 24 months.