Iraq is understood to have restarted construction works on a gas-fired power generation plant in Anbar.

"The project, which costs $1.5bn, is 55 per cent completed," local Shafaq News Agency said on 22 July, citing an official groundbreaking ceremony led by Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi.

Construction works on the power plant project began in 2013, but the project was later suspended when Islamic State seized control of Al-Anbar governorate.

The combined-cycle power plant will contribute to supplying the electrical grid system with additional power capacity that will improve production and provide a better service to the citizens of Al-Anbar, according to Al-Kadhimi.

The project consists of four GE GT26 gas units, each with a capacity of 273MW, and two steam turbines with a capacity of 275MW each.

Iraq's Electricity Ministry awarded a $1bn contract to build the 1,642MW Al-Anbar power plant, located in western Iraq, as MEED reported in 2013.

A team of Greece’s Metka and China’s Sepco 3 is understood to have won the contract nine years ago.

However, construction works on the project were put on hold in 2019, according to MEED Projects data.

A total of over $10.8bn-worth of conventional and renewable power generation and transmission network projects are currently being planned in Iraq, according to MEED Projects.