Siemens wins Iraqi gas-fired power plant gig

German engineering giant Siemens has received an order to supply the key components and long-term power generation services for the 840-megawatt (MW) Maisan combined cycle power plant in Iraq.

CITIC Construction, the Chinese engineering procurement and construction firm building the plant, and Iraqi developer MPC, part of Raban Al-Safina for Energy Projects (RASEP) awarded the contract valued at more than €280 million ($314.8 million) to Siemens.

The independent power project is expected to deliver first power by March 2021 and enter full combined cycle mode by early 2022. The plant will supply sufficient electricity to meet the needs of more than three million Iraqis, while also supporting the industrial sector.

Siemens said in its statement its scope of supply includes two SGT5-4000F gas turbines, oneSST5-4000 steam turbine, and three SGen5-2000H generators, along with the SPPA-T3000 control systems, transformers and related electrical equipment, and the fuel gas system.

“Iraq is undergoing an economic transformation, and as the country embarks on a series of ambitious infrastructure projects, efficient and reliable electricity will be essential to powering this development,” said Dietmar Siersdorfer, CEO of Siemens Middle East and UAE.

Siemens and the Ministry of Electricity of the Republic of Iraq recently signed an implementation agreement to kick off the actual execution of the roadmap for rebuilding Iraq’s power sector. As part of the implementation agreement, the two agreed on the awarding of contracts valued at approximately €700 million for phase 1 of the roadmap. This includes the EPC construction of a 500 MW gas-fired power plant in Zubaidiya, the upgrade of 40 gas turbines with upstream cooling systems, and the installation of thirteen 132 kV substations as well as 34 transformers across Iraq.