Iran’s construction and infrastructure giant MAPNA Group has begun work on a power plant in Syria’s western port city of Latakia on the Mediterranean coast.
The project was officially initiated when Iran’s Energy Minister Reza Ardakanian visited the construction site on Tuesday during his two-day visit to Syria. He was accompanied by Syrian Electricity Minister Mohammad Zuhair Kharboutli.
Iran Energy Minister Reza Ardakanian (2nd left) visits Latakia power plant construction site on Tuesday, 29 January (Photo: SANA)
The combined-cycle power plant is set to produce 540 megawatts of electricity. It’s located in al-Rasteen village, next to the 16 October Dam, according to the official Syrian news agency Sana.
"The plant is estimated to cost €411 million of which 40% will be provided by the Damascus government," Ardakanian said in Syria on Tuesday, noting that Export Development Bank of Iran (EDBI) is the other financier, according to Paven, the Energy Ministry news portal.
A contract between the Energy Ministry and EDBI says the loan will be repaid when the plant starts work, he said.
The project, that is expected to be carried out during nearly three years, includes construction of a 75-meter gas pipeline from Baniyas some 55 kms south of Latakia.
The same contract was signed a few years ago to build a power plant in As-Suwayda city, close to the border with Jordan. However, it didn’t go forward because the war broke out in Syria.
The plant construction comes as part of Iran-Syria long-term strategic economic cooperation agreement that was signed in Damascus by Iran's First Vice President Eshaq Jahangiri and Syrian Primer Minister Imad Khamid in Damascus on Monday.
MAPNA Group had built several other power plants in Syria before the war.