Iran to provide electricity to Iraq; damages to Iraqi electricity network due to US past actions are $8 billion

Iraq and Iran on Tuesday signed a memorandum of understanding to cooperate in the field of electricity, according to which Tehran gives support to Baghdad to rehabilitate its network and provide it with electrical power.

The Iraqi minister of electricity, Ayhem al-Samerai, said following his return back from Iran, following a three day visit, that according to the memorandum of understanding "Iran will give support and help to Iraq in the field of electricity and provides it with an amount of 100 to 130 Megawatt at a maximum. This is in the course of the Ministry's efforts to ensure electricity supplies from the countries neighboring Iraq."

He said that this amount is not enough to fill the deficiency in electrical power because Iraq is still in need of additional 15,000 megawatts. Al-Samerai continued that his ministry "could not sign the private contracts by adding new 1800 megawatt to the national Iraqi electricity organization because sums estimated at 600 million dollars have not been allotted.

During his visit to Jordan, al-Samerai announced that the cost of rehabilitating the electricity public sector for next year is estimated at 8 billion dollars.