GE Power said it has been awarded a major contract worth over $400 million to develop 14 electric substations on a turnkey basis in Iraq.

As per the agreement signed with Iraqi Ministry of Electricity (MoE), the company will also supply critical equipment such as transformers, circuit breakers and other outdoor items to rehabilitate existing substations and bring much-needed power to areas facing significant electricity shortages across the country.

The project represents a strategic milestone for GE in Iraq, and will also see the company support the MoE to secure funding through various financial institutions, including export credit agencies and commercial banks, said the company in a statement.

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

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

Mussab Al Mudaris, the spokesperson of the Iraqi MoE, 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."

"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 has the technology, global capabilities and local presence to ensure the successful and sustainable execution of the project," stated Al Mudaris.
 
As per the contract, 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.
 
Mohammed Mohaisen, the president and CEO of GE Power’s Grid Solutions business in the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) and Turkey said: "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 MoE in finding sustainable and effective solutions to some of the country’s most pressing issues," he stated.
 
GE has three offices in the country - in Baghdad, Erbil and Basra – and the company continues to deliver advanced technology and expertise for the development of critical energy, healthcare and transportation infrastructure in the country, noted Mohaisen.

Today, GE-built technologies generate up to 50 per cent of Iraq’s power and the company employs about 300 people in the country, more than 95 per cent of whom are Iraqi nationals, he added.-TradeArabia News Service