As part of its assistance to the reconstruction of Iraq, the Government of Japan has decided to extend to the Ministry of Electricity emergency grant assistance totaling about $120 million to construct a diesel power station with a power generation capacity of 60 megawatts (MW) in Samawah city, with a view to improving electric power supply in the Governorate of Al-Muthanna including Samawah.
Iraq needs urgently to improve the electricity supply, and this is true of Samawah and the Governorate of Al-Muthanna, which are the main targets of Japan 's assistance for the reconstruction of Iraq . At present, it is said that the whole of the Governorate of Al-Muthanna needs about 200MW electricity but receives only 40-50MW supply.
To make matters worse, the Governorate has no power station and has to depend on other governorates for electricity. Frequent blackouts lasting many hours occur in Samawah and other areas of Al-Muthanna, with a serious impact on the life of the residents. The Governorate of Al-Muthanna has therefore repeatedly requested Japan to extend large-scale assistance in the field of electricity supply.
The Government of Japan has decided to extend this assistance, taking account of the severe power supply shortage in and the requests from Al-Muthanna. It is expected that the assistance will contribute to improving the power supply in the whole of the Governorate of Al-Muthanna including Samawah and to stabilizing the people's living conditions.
With this assistance, Japan has completed the implementation of the $1.5 billion grant that it pledged as grant aid for immediate needs for the reconstruction of Iraq .
[Related links]
* Pamphlet: Helping the People of Iraq Toward Building a Bright and Peaceful Future [PDF]
|
