Iraqi energy officials marked the start of work on a 1,250 megawatt power plant with Turkey's Calik Enerji as the country seeks to boost its electricity output.

The Turkish company, which won the $445.5 million contract in October, is expected to finish the project in April 2013, Sabeeh Qadu, general manager for gas projects in Iraq's Electricity Ministry was quoted as saying in a report in our sister newspaper Gulf Daily News (GDN).

The plant consists of 10 gas turbines, each producing 125 MW, or 1,250 MW in
total. The turbines are among 56 gas turbines the ministry purchased from General Electric in 2008, Qadu said.