So true, so thank you. Yahoo for the Iraqi's.
U.S. aid agency installs 325 megawatt plant in northern city
Azzaman, May 17, 2005
The United States Agency for International Development is currently constructing a 325 megawatt power plant in the northern oil-rich city of Kirkuk.
The plant is the largest to be constructed in the country since 1990 when former leader Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait prompting the United Nations to impose sweeping trade sanctions on Iraq.
USAID is now the body in charge of most post-war reconstruction taking place in the country.
Despite mounting violence and attacks on foreigners, USAID officials have not withdrawn from Iraq.
A USAID statement faxed to the newspaper said Iraqi engineers and technicians were doing the bulk of work in the new power plant.
Electricity is a major problem in Iraq and the current plants have failed to meet local consumption which is believed to have soared substantially in the past two years.
USAID is heavily involved in the repair and rehabilitation of electricity infrastructure.
The agency is working hard to boost power supply during the summer months in which demand peaks in Iraq.
Maintenance work financed and supervised by the agency continues at eight secondary power generating stations in Baghdad in the hope of providing the capital’s five million people with stable power supplies by the end of June.
“The maintenance work is bound to lead to a higher efficiency as far as electricity distribution is concerned,” said the statement written in Arabic.
USAID is also working on al-Dawra Power Plant in Baghdad, which used to meet a large portion of the capital’s needs in the past.
But the 640 megawatt plant had fallen into disrepair and was in need of massive rehabilitation to bring it on stream again.
The statement said USAID maintenance work should initially revive almost half of the plant’s original capacity once it is completed.
“Cooling systems in the plant are damaged making it difficult to operate the turbines without endangering the whole plant due to excessive heat,” the statement said.
Iraq’s current needs are estimated at 6500 megawatts but the country is reported to be able to generate about half that amount.