The Turkish energy company Lanka has started constructing five new power plants in the Hamam al-Aleel district and Albu Saif village, 20 km south of Mosul.
According to Muhammed Wadallah al-Jabbouri from the Nineveh directorate of energy, the generators will have a capacity of up to 130 MW each and will cost US$30mn, reported AK News.
The power generating units are in addition to a US$267mn six-unit deal signed between the Nineveh energy directorate and Lanka at the start of the year.
Electricity demand in Iraq during the hot summer months is estimated at around 14,000 MW. According to government figures, the energy currently available to Iraq stands at around 9,000 MW.
Iraq's power sector has suffered years of under investment and the country suffers from acute shortage of electricity.
The federal Ministry of Electricity announced in February this year that it intends to launch licensing rounds for investment in the country's electricity sector in order to meet the rising energy demands.
The licensing rounds are part of a government scheme to raise the national electricity generating capacity to 27,000 MW over the next four years with annual allocations of between US$3 billion and US$4 billion
