Siemens has shipped the first F-class gas turbine for a power project in Bandar Abbas, Iran, only six months after signing an agreement with Mapna Group.

This is the first stage of the bilateral contract covering the transfer of know-how for F-class gas turbine technology between Siemens and Iran's Mapna, a statement said.

As part of the Bandar Abbas gas-fired power plant, this turbine along with the rest of the equipment which will be provided by Mapna, will help to cover the country’s continuously rising demand for electricity.

In March 2016, Siemens concluded a far-reaching agreement with Mapna, Iran's largest power plant EPC contractor, to collaborate on the transfer of know-how for the F-class gas turbine technology to modernise the Iranian power supply system.

During the course of this agreement, the two companies also signed a contract that covers not only the two SGT5-4000F gas turbines but also two SGen5-2000H generators and the associated power plant instrumentation and controls.

“Siemens’ activities in Iran go back as far as 1868 and involve important infrastructure projects. With the delivery of the first gas turbine to Iran we are renewing our long-term partnership with Mapna with the aim of modernising and expanding the country’s power supply network,” emphasized Willi Meixner, CEO of the Siemens Power and Gas Division. “We are therefore making an important contribution towards improving energy supplies to the people and to industry in Iran.”

The Bandar Abbas power plant will have an electrical capacity of approximately 600 megawatts (MW) which will be added to the Iranian power grid. This capacity is sufficient to supply electricity to 150,000 Iranian homes. Mapna plans to expand the facility into a combined-cycle power plant at a later point in time.

The Iranian Energy Ministry is planning to build further gas-fired power plants in various locations across the country. They are expected to help cover the demand for electricity, which grows by approximately five percent each year. Iran wants to increase its generation capacities from approximately 74 gigawatts today to a total of 100 Gigawatt over the coming five years. A large portion of the new power plants being built will be fired with natural gas.

The country is also planning to significantly expand its energy exports. The agreement between Siemens and the Iranian Mapna Group includes a license for manufacturing F-class gas turbines in Iran. A total of more than 20 gas turbines as well as the associated generators are scheduled to be delivered over the next four to five years. - TradeArabia News Service