Siemens signs agreement to refurbish Iraq’s electrical power grid

Berlin (dpa) – Iraqi government representatives and Germany’s Siemens industrial conglomerate signed an implementation agreement on wide-ranging refurbishment of the Iraqi electrical power grid in Berlin on Tuesday.

Details of the deal, which has yet to be finalized, were hammered out ahead of Tuesday’s meeting between Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdel Mahdi and German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

Abdel Mahdi said the road map agreed comprised four stages totalling around 14 billion dollars in contracts. Siemens had a good chance of being awarded “a large part of these projects,” he said.

General Electric of the United States has also shown interest in the projects.

Poor electricity supply has led to political tensions in Iraq. Last year, people in southern Basra province set government buildings ablaze in protest at poor electricity and water supplies.