Iraq reconstruction accelerates

Iraq is seeking to increase its power capacity.

Iraq's Electricity Ministry is inviting bidders to undertake the construction and installation work at power plants as the first gas turbines of 72 procured in 2008 start arriving, in what will be a key test of the Ministry's project management abilities and will show where in Iraq subcontractors dare and do not dare venture.

IHS Global Insight Middle East analyst Sam Ciszuk comments on the implications.

Finally, Implementation

Iraq's electricity sector has suffered a large capacity deficit for decades, having barely been able to meet the population's minimum demands in the face of international sanctions in the 1990s or to carry out large-scale reconstruction because of the ubiquitous violence in the aftermath of the 2003 invasion. An ambitious four-year plan to rebuild and quadruple Iraq's generating capacity was launched by Electricity Minister Karim Waheed in the second half of 2007—as violence started to abate in large parts of the country—but was delayed as oil prices plummeted in the second half of 2008 while the improvement in security-related working conditions still proved too.

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Launching vast reconstruction efforts on such a badly damaged power generation and supply chain is a very complex issue, requiring considerable stability, not forgetting a consistent supply of feedstock—an issue which still has to be resolved in Iraq. Lead times for gas turbines are also considerable, despite Iraq's purchase of very common and widespread technical solutions in bulk. Hence it is only now that the real push looks imminent, with eight GE turbines ordered in late 2008 having just been delivered and another 24 expected to arrive before the year is over, Laith al-Mamury, head of investments and contracts at the Electricity Ministry, told Reuters.