Leaders from Syria and Iran signed a memorandum of understanding on Tuesday where Iran would build a power plant worth €411 million ($475 million) in the coastal city of Latakia set to begin next year, the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) reported yesterday.
The head of Syria's public authority for electricity generation Mahmoud Ramadan and Iran's MAPNA group managing director Abbas Aliabadi inked the agreement on the sidelines of a meeting in Tehran between Iranian energy minister Reza Ardakanian and Syrian electricity minister Mohammad Zuheir Kharboutli.
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After launching the project, the power plant will complete the first gas units in 15 months and the second in 24 months, with a steam unit projected for 34 months, the Syrian minister stated.
Kharboutli also said that a 70-kilometer pipeline with a 2 million cubic meter capacity would transport gas to the power plant.
Various deals to rebuild Syria's embattled infrastructure have gained momentum, with recent developments proving that an international community stands in solidarity with Damascus to not just restore infrastructure, but faith in the Syrian Arab Republic.
Other Cooperation in Energy Sector, Power Grid
Following up with MoUs reached in September, Kharboutli met with Hassan Danaeifar, Iran's advisor to the First Vice-President and chairman of the Iranian committee on the development of economic relations with Syria and Iraq, on Tuesday to reaffirm commitments to Syrian infrastructure, MEHR News Agency reports.
The Iranian energy minister stressed the need to rehabilitate the Aleppo Thermal Power Station and restore Aleppo's position as a vital industrial city. "We are working hard to bring the station back to service with a capacity of 1065 MW," he said as quoted by SANA.
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"The experience of this company will be used to support the electricity sector in Syria," Kharboutli continued, stressing the importance of cooperating with the Iran Powerplant Repair Company (IPRC), adding that "it was agreed to hold bilateral meetings between experts from both sides to examine the needs of the Syrian electricity sector".
Syria's energy minister also urged the IPRC to submit a technical and financial offer for repairs to the Aleppo Thermal Power Station in no later than 60 days. Danaeifar responded in a press statement that Iranian companies were fully prepared to cooperate with Syria in electricity, noting the importance of cooperating between Iran, Syria, Iraq and Lebanon.
2018 Rebuild Syria Expo
The 4th edition Rebuild Syria Expo is running October 2-6 and showcases some of the biggest names from 270 companies representing 29 countries, SANA News Agency reported on Tuesday.
Despite Western media spinning Syrian reconstruction efforts as an Iran-Lebanon-Russia-China affair, companies from Western and Latin American nations as diverse as Brazil, Denmark, Greece, Spain, Venezuela, Cuba, Germany, Romania and Belgium have attended the event, SANA notes. Traditional allies such as Russia, China, Belarus, Iraq, Lebanon, Jordan, and many others will also attend.
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Iranian Ambassador to Syria Javad Turk-Abadi said in a statement that the expo revealed the determination of the Syrian people and their allies to rebuild Syria, adding that Iran desired to participate in reconstruction efforts.
The remarkable increase in participants in the expo set clear evidence on its success and underlined the importance of such events in bringing together contractors and investors from the public and private sector, Hussein Arnous, Syria's minister of public works and housing told reporters.
