EPRT-WASIT: WASIT'S NEW CHINESE POWER PLANT

UNCLAS BAGHDAD 004144 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREL ENRG ETRD IZ CH SUBJECT: EPRT-WASIT: WASIT'S NEW CHINESE POWER PLANT ¶1. (SBU) On 17 December Wasit Governor Abd al-Latif Hamad Turfa told Team Leader ePRT and CDR 214th FB that he accompanied the Minister of Electricity to China to witness the signing of a power plant contract between the GOI and Shanghai Heavy Industry for the construction of a power plant that will generate "over 1,200 megawatts" of electricity. Turfa said the completion of the contract was the culmination of two years of negotiations between the Chinese company and the GOI based on discussions that began during the Saddam Hussein regime. He initially claimed that the plant would be "100 percent staffed by Iraqis" but later noted that an advance team of "Chinese employees" would arrive in Wasit in six months. (Note: The Governor is not known for his mastery of details on most issues. End note.) The plant will be located in Zubaydiyah, a small town on highway six (Alternate Supply Route Bismarck) between Al Aziziyah and An Numaniyah. However, Turfa said the director would have an office in Amman, Jordan. CROCKER