Iraq's Ministry of Electricity said it had awarded a $388 million contract to Turkey's Calik Enerji to build a power plant with a total capacity of 750 megawatts (MW) in northern Iraq.

Laith Al Mamury, the head of investments and contracts at the ministry, said the plant will consist of six gas turbines and will be installed within 18 to 20 months in the city of Mosul in northern Iraq, according to our sister newspaper Gulf Daily News.

On Tuesday, the cabinet approved the awarding of the deal to the Turkish firm, Mamury said.

'God willing, the contract will be signed within 10 days,' he said.

In October, Calik won a $445.5 million contract to build a plant and instal 10 turbines in the southern city of Karbala with a total capacity of 1,250 MW.

Eight years after the US-led invasion that ousted Saddam Hussein, Iraq's national grid still only supplies a few hours of power each day. Intermittent electricity is one of the public's top complaints. The ministry hopes to add around 1,000 MW to the grid this year.