Iraq’s Council of Ministers has approved the Electricity Ministry signing an agreement with Germany’s Siemens Energy, and Beijing-based China State Construction Engineering Corporation (CSCEC) to rehabilitate the Baiji 2 Gas-fired Power Station.

As the main contractor, CSCEC will be responsible for financing the project, supplying, and installing the auxiliary equipment such as the fuel system, fire suppression systems, treatment, compressors along with pipelines and valves, as well as civil works.

For finance, the contractor will explore the option of securing export credit support from China.

Siemens Energy will be responsible for supplying the main equipment such as the gas turbine and transformers. It will also supervise the execution of the project.

MEED reported in May that Siemens was continuing discussions with Iraq’s Electricity Ministry for the rebuild of the Baiji 1 and Baiji 2 power plants in northern Iraq, both of which were damaged by the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (Isis).

MEED reported in 2019 that the ministry and a team of Siemens and Egypt’s Orascom Construction signed a contract to rebuild the two power plants. Construction of the plants was expected to begin after the contracts were approved by Iraq’s Council of Ministers and a financial agreement was reached with the Finance Ministry.

Also in May this year, it was reported that the Electricity Ministry held preliminary discussions with a Qatari company to build a greenfield power plant in Baiji with a potential capacity of 2,100MW.