A view of the Anbar combined gas power plant, which the Electricity Ministry says is 95% complete.
Electricity minister says Anbar combined gas power plant nearing completion
BAGHDAD — Iraq’s Minister of Electricity, Ziyad Ali Fadel, announced Saturday that work on the Anbar combined gas power plant is nearing completion, with 95% of the project finished and a total generation capacity of 1,600 megawatts. He said the plant will help stabilize power supply in the governorate.
In a statement, the ministry said the project is one of the largest power generation plants in Iraq, with “a total capacity of 1,600 megawatts.”
Fadel said, “The project completion rate has reached 95%,” adding that “the Council of Ministers recently approved the implementation of a fuel pipeline from the Akkas gas field to the station site, which represents an important step toward completing the operational requirements.”
He noted that the project also includes “the establishment of a 1,000-megawatt substation and transmission lines covering various areas of Anbar governorate,” which will “help strengthen the stability of the electrical system in the governorate and nearby areas.”
Fadel added that the ministry is waiting for the Ministry of Oil to complete development of the Akkas gas field before officially starting operations at the plant. He said the operation of the Anbar combined gas power plant “will mark a qualitative leap in Iraq’s energy sector and contribute to meeting a large portion of the country’s growing demand for electricity.”
In August, Fadel announced that Iraq had reached a record-high electricity production level of 28,000 megawatts—the highest in its history—through maintenance projects, power station upgrades, and the use of imported fuel. He said the ministry aims to continue expanding capacity through agreements with General Electric, Siemens, and Shanghai Electric. Earlier in the year, he told Al Hadath TV, “We aim for this summer to be different from last summer. In numerical terms, we cannot reach a 24-hour electricity supply across all Iraqi governorates because the required production levels exceed 40,000 megawatts.”