Iranian bank to invest in Syria’s €400-million project

TEHRAN, Feb. 17 (MNA) - Iran’s Export Development Bank will provide 25 percent of the financing for a €400-million power project in Syria and also launch a gas refinery adjacent to the site to feed its fuel, the director of Iran Power Plant Projects Management Company (MAPNA) announced on Friday.

Abbas Aliabadi told Mehr News Agency that the power plant will have the generation capacity of 484 megawatts and will be set up within 28 months.

Aliabadi added that Iran also plans to build a power project in Algeria.

Iran is currently participating in building seven large power plants in different countries, he added.

Earlier this month, he said that the country is building a number of power plants in Syria, Oman, Iraq, and Tajikistan.

By the end of the fifth five-year economic development plan (2015), Iran will boost its electricity generation capacity by 25 gigawatts (GW) to reach 73GW, Energy Minister Majid Namjou said on February 7.

The country’s installed power generation capacity is currently about 64GW, he added.

Deputy Energy Minister Mohammad Behzad has said that the country’s electricity exports would amount to $1 billion by the end of the current calendar year (March 19, 2012).

Iran currently exchanges electricity with Turkey, Armenia, Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iraq.